True Monsters, Tortured Souls
by newwriter2016
Summary: Cardin is a bad person. Everyone knows that. But what happens when he goes too far, crosses the line? Why does he hate the Faunus so much? Read on to find out. Starts after volume 2. Thanks to WritingwithGusto for the idea. Rated T, but heads up, this is NOT a happy story.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey guys, sorry about this. I had to make a slight change because I was writing myself into a wall. Overall plot hasn't changed, just a little something to keep it more in line with the Characters._

It had started small enough. It seems these things always start off small. Some name calling, some tripping, nothing major. It wasn't that Cardin particularly had anything against the rabbit girl, he just didn't like Faunus in general. At least…that's how things were.

Team CRDL were loafing around outside of the cafeteria, looking for a young kid to…borrow…some lunch money from. They had already had their fun with Jaune, or at least what they could before his partner rescued him. Now Cardin was on the hunt. He wanted someone who he could take his time with, whose team wouldn't show up and ruin the fun. _Her._

Velvet Scarlatina timidly walked into the main lobby of the school, trying to blend in with the crowd. It didn't really work with the giant ears sprouting from her head. He knew that the second years had a major test coming up with Oobleck, and most had been sequestered in their respective rooms for the past several days. Meaning that the bunny girls' team wouldn't be making an appearance.

Whistling, he signaled Dove and Sky to steer the girl towards one of the empty classrooms. He beckoned Russel over before whispering something in the smaller boys' ear. Cackling, he ran into the cafeteria. Cardin glanced back up and broke out into a sneer. Sky and Dove had the Faunus in between them, leading her out of the flow of traffic. Oh yes, this would be all kinds of fun.

… … … … … … …

 _Five minutes later…_

… … … … … … …

"You know, Yatsu is going to beat the pulp out of you, you do realize," Velvet scoffed at the two freshmen in front of her. They had grabbed her on her way to getting her team some lunch. Now they had her cornered by the chalk board. Seriously, the gall of these two. "But that's only if Coco doesn't get to you two first."

"I don't think they'll notice for a while," said a new figure sauntering into the room. He was a large kid, wearing plate armor with some kind of bird design on the breast plate. Behind him strode a smaller kid with a blonde Mohawk, trying to hide something behind his back. "After all, the lunch line tends to be really long this time of day."

"So what's this, you guys want to prove that you're the baddest boys here?" Velvet asked, hands on her hips, voice dripping with sarcasm. "You think that if you can mess with someone older than you that you're tough or something. Well, fine then. You guys are the toughest coolest guys here, you bullied a sophomore. Now, can I go get some food?"

"Oh, we're not trying to prove anything," smirked the large kid. He must have been their leader or something. "We're just looking to have a bit of fun. And we _knew_ you must be hungry, so we decided to bring you something."

Puzzled, Velvet raised an eyebrow, challenging the boys to go on. Snickering, mohawk kid pulled out his arm from behind his back and threw something at her. Reflexes driven into her in her two years at Beacon took over, and she swatted it out of the air. The four boys erupted into roars of laughter. Perplexed, she glanced down at the thing. _Really._

"Really boys, a carrot, because of my ears?" she asked. This only caused the boys to laugh louder.

"Oh, don't be like that bunny," the boy with the blue hair snickered. "You said you were hungry, so Russel over here did you a huge favor." Sighing, she turned and tried to push her way out of ring of freshmen. The one in the armor shoved her back against the wall.

"I wanna see her take a bite," added the fourth one. "Maybe she has buck teeth like a rabbit too." He kicked the orange stick towards her.

"Eat it, bunny bitch," said the armored one. For a moment she paused. She could give them what they wanted, and might leave her alone, or she could stand up for herself, but possibly make them angrier. _Aw to hell with them._

"Fuck you guys," she yelled at them. "You just a bunch of overconfident meanies who-OW!" The big one had lashed out at her and slapped her ears, hard.

"Eat the damn vegetable, you stupid animal," the head boy barked at her. The other three boys weren't laughing anymore, their eyes just flickered between their leader and her. Resigned to her fate, she slowly squatted down and picked up the thing by the larger end. Standing back up, she held the thing in front of her lips for a moment. The boy started to raise his hand to slap her again, so she quickly took a nibble off the end, barely enough to be considered a bite. They had obviously hadn't even bothered to wash the vegetable beforehand; she could taste the dirt and grime on it. She nearly threw the small bite up right there.

"Good rabbit," the boy sneered at her. "It looks like the real people on your team haven't done a good enough job training you. Although, given rabbits' reputation, I'm surprised you didn't do something else with it." Rage. The fiery flood of it turned Velvet's vision red.

Throwing the vile orange thing at the armored boy, she snarled, "Shove it up yours, you prick." The carrot bounced off his breastplate with a small _thunk._ Before she knew it, she was reeling backwards, her Faunus eyes not being able to keep up with the lightning fast punch the boy threw at her. Her head cracked against the chalkboard behind her, and she crumpled to the floor.

… … … … … … …

Cardin loomed over the creature on the floor. His rage, pent up over long years, was rising to the surface. Sure, he was mean to almost everyone, but he had a special, deep-rooted hatred for Faunus kind. No one knew his pain.

"Shut up you fucking animal," he roared down the dazed creature, his fury driving any reason from his mind. "You don't know a damn thing." He emphasized his sentence with a hard kick to her gut. Her hands scrambled to reach her camera bag. Rumor was that it was really her weapon. "No you don't" Cardin growled, ripping it from her. Unfortunately, as it was attached to her belt, it ripped her shorts off as well, leaving her in her tights. This detail went unnoticed by Cardin, his frenzy still controlling his mind.

"Dude, that's enough, you've made your point, let's scram," pleaded Russel, putting a hand on Cardin's shoulder to try to calm the boy. The next instant, he was flying through the air, knocked completely unconscious by a vicious blow from his friend and leader. Sky and Dove shared a brief look before the two of them scooped up their senseless teammate and fled the classroom.

"You need to know what you've done," screamed Cardin with a kick. "You need to know what pain your kind did to them. *kick* TO ME! *kick* YOUR KIND NEED TO BE PUT IN PENS! *kick* YOU NEED TO BE KEPT AWAY *kick* FROM *kick* REAL *kick* PEOPLE!" with that last word, he stomped down onto her knee, shattering the joint. Her blood curdling scream echoed around the room, freezing Cardin. As if emerging from a trance. He looked down in horror at what he had done. The girl was wheezing and gasping for breath, blood misted on her lips. Part of her femur broke through her skin at her destroyed knee.

Suddenly, suppressed memories flooded his mind. Another woman, clothing ripped, lying dead in a pool of her own blood. He stumbled back, but he couldn't escape the vision. A man was propped against pillar, his torso covered in horrific wounds, and his face…his eyes! Cardin tried to scream, but couldn't make a sound. Unfortunately for the big kid, someone else screamed.

"VELVET!"

… … … … … … …

Team RWBY, as well as the girls from JNPR and Coco, had found Sky and Dove running through the halls not five minutes ago, sporting an unconscious Russel between them. The boys had pleaded with them to stop Cardin before they killed her. They didn't need to say who her was.

Coco screamed at the sight in the classroom. Velvet, her beloved partner, lay in a crumpled heap against a wall. Cardin, with Velvet's blood covering his boots and legs, was reeling away from her. He appeared in some kind of pain – from what she had no idea- but it didn't matter at this point. He crashed into the opposite wall, aura shattering from the blow, but stayed on his feet somehow. Weiss slipped past Coco and, with two quick slashes, froze the boy's – no, the monster's – hands to the wall.

"Ruby, grab Velvet and get her to the hospital," Yang barked. With a flurry of rose petals, the young girl and the rabbit Faunus disappeared.

"Good call, she doesn't need to see this," Pyrha seethed. With a flick of her wrist, Cardin's Armor was torn from his body. Nora stepped up to him first and, having drawn Magnhild and converted it to its hammer form, smashed his knees, one after the other. A small scream escaped Weiss before she fainted there, but the rest of the group hardly gave her any notice. Next Yang stepped up, eyes burning blood red, and began pummeling the poor boy. The blows began to land at an inhuman speed, thanks to Yang activating her aura, hitting his head, torso, groin, stomach.

After what seemed an eternity, the blonde brawler backed off, panting. Blake slowly strode up next, drawing Gambol Shroud in its katana form.

"I am not going to ask why you did it," she said, her flat monotone obscuring her ice cold fury. "I always knew you were a bad person, but I never thought you were a monster. I almost pity you, seeing you like this. But I've seen your kind before, real monsters, worse than any Grimm or criminal." She lashed out, two blindingly fast horizontal slashes followed by a vertical one. The others stared for a moment, thinking she had missed, but their faces transformed to expressions of awe upon seeing what happened. Blood wept out of the shallow wounds, looking like red tears. Blake had carved a capitol F onto the bigger boy's chest. She backed up, and the final girl approached.

"Any last words, monster?" Coco sneered at the miserable excuse for a human in front of her, leveling her mini-gun at him. By some miracle – or curse depending on your point of view – Cardin was still not only alive, but conscious. He coughed once, blood spurting from his mouth, before muttering two quite words.

"Kill me"

Coco froze, the two words hitting her like a slap. She looked down at herself, then at the others. Their expression mirrored her own; horror and disgust. In seeking to exact revenge for Velvet, they had done and become what they hated.

"What is this!" screeched a voice from the doorway. Glynda Goodwitch had arrived, along with the entire campus security force. "What have you girls done?! Look at him. I saw what he did, but…" she rattled on to the girls. Two of the security men broke Cardin out of his restraints and carted him to the campus hospital on a stretcher. The rest escorted the girls to the security office to be debriefed and, if needed, punished.

Glynda could do not but stare at the horror around her. Blood was everywhere, most of it Cardin's. _What could cause people – Kids! – to do this?_ She wondered. Voices started to trickle into the room from the hallway, but with a flick of her crop she closed the door and locked it.

They didn't need to see the horrors that lay inside.

 _Hey guys, newwriter here. Thanks for reading my new story. I noticed that Cardin doesn't have much of a back story, or any story for that matter, so I'm making this. Leave a review to let me know what you think. Favorite if you like it. Follow to keep up to date with it. Thanks a lot to Writingwithgusto for the inspiration. Check out his profile for more great fanfics._

 _Peace out_


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks, Coco, Yatsuhashi and Fox had set up a schedule so that at least one person was watching over the unconscious form of Velvet. Two weeks, the recovering Faunus had been fussed over by the Beacon medical team. Two weeks, the rabbit Faunus had remained comatose, recovering from the horrific beating that Cardin Winchester had doled out on her.

Two weeks after the incident, and all three students were in Velvet's hospital room. Yatsuhashi sat cross-legged by the door, meditating in order to maintain his tranquility. Fox had tried to meditate as well, but had fallen asleep on the big man's shoulder. In order to maintain their vigil, one of them had to cover the homework, and Fox had volunteered to cover most of it for the team while Coco stayed with her partner.

As of that moment, Coco had collapsed into a deep slumber in a chair positioned by Velvet's bed, the Faunus' hand still clenched between her own. She had gotten around twenty hours of sleep in the past two weeks, so she was understandably a little tired.

A soft tugging came from the hand she clenched between her own. It was probably the doctor trying to pull it out. _No, this is my hand._ The groggy fashionista grumbled a few dark expletives before flopping onto the prized limb. Suddenly, an almost angelic voice whispered something that made the leader jump snap fully awake.

"No Coco, you can't have my hand. You already have two of your own," Velvet sweetly said. Coco gazed into Velvet's deep brown eyes, soaking in the sisterly love they held, before breaking down into a sob and enveloping the wounded girl in a rough embrace. She immediately hopped off hearing a slightly pained squeak coming from the girl.

"Fox!" Coco barked coldly. The blind boy shot up to his feet, head spinning around wildly, listening for the sounds of an attack. Velvet chuckled weakly, drawing his attention. But before he could speak, Coco cut him off, "Go get the doctor, NOW!" The boy promptly turned towards the door, only to trip over Yatsu into the door in his haste. Once righted, he exited and ran down the hallway, screaming for the doctor.

Yatsu rose from the floor and strode over to the opposite side from Coco before resting a giant hand lightly on the shoulder of his friend and comrade. The big swordsman kept his expression stoic, giving the impression he was carved from stone, but the two girls who had been his teammate for years knew him better than that. He was a big softie, and would probably break down crying once he was someplace alone. Any other time, Coco would have teased him for it, but she was consumed with her own quite sobs of joy.

Velvet on the other hand, was entirely confused. She had woken up in a strange room, surrounded by her friends – who looked like hammered crap – with a pounding headache and no idea why she was their. She opened her mouth to ask, but before she could a man in a long white coat with a stethoscope draped around his neck walked in, Fox trailing behind him. Her blind teammate looked about to jump on her and wrap her in a crushing hug, but Yatsu – bless that man – put a hand on the smaller boy's chest to restrain him.

"Ms. Adel, could you and your teammates please wait out in the hall for a few minutes?" the doctor asked in a slow, measured tone. This was not something Coco liked in the slightest.

"Do you know who we are?" she demanded of the doctor. "We're her teammates, Oum dammit, and we're not about to leave her until she's back on her feet."

"You will do what she says, Ms. Adel, or your punishment will be greatly expanded upon," came a wintery female voice from the hallway. Glynda Goodwitch stalked into the room, trailed by a meek Ozpin, her riding crop clutched in her fist. Coco turned to confront the huntress, but Yatsuhashi's big hand clamped over her mouth. She had to be physically hauled – which was no easy easy task, despite her size – by Yatsu before she got into any more trouble. Fox flashed a sympathetic look at the doctor, or rather the wall to the left of the doctor, before following his teammates out. This was all lost on Velvet, who was staring at Professor Ozpin, one thought dominating her mind. _How come his coffee mug is, like, never empty? Is it magic?_

Glynda closed the door while Ozpin sunk into Coco's recently vacated chair. The doctor buzzed around her for a few minutes – reading monitors, looking at things, poking her – before coming to a stop by her elbow.

"What is your name child?" he questioned her, a concerned look on his face.

"Velvet Scarlatina. What happened?"

"Where do you attend school?"

"Beacon Academy. What happened?"

"What is today's date?"

"The third of September. What the dust happened?!"

Sighing, the doctor turned to the two teachers. "Do you want to tell her or should I?" he queried. Ozpin nodded at him, signaling him to continue. "Today is the seventeenth of September, Miss Scarlatina, not the third. What is the last thing you remember?"

Shocked, Velvet fumbled for her recent memories. _Her team had been cooped up in their room that morning, studying for an infamous Oobleck exam. She had drawn the short straw and had been banished and told not to return without food. She had made it to the lobby, then…then…_ blank.

"I was getting lunch for our team," she answered meekly. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes, but she wiped them away with an angry hand. "WHAT THE DUST HAPPENED!" she screamed, jolting up to a sitting position.

Pain. Unimaginable pain. It wracked through her chest, like lightning and fire. Shrieking, she collapsed back down onto the bed. It took a few minutes for her to recover. The doctor bustled over her again, making sure she hadn't pulled any of the tubes or wires out. Once settled, he spoke, "Miss Scarlatina, I need to ask you not to do things like that. You recently went through a traumatic experience. You had three broken ribs, a shattered knee, as well as a serious concussion. You are on the maximum amount of pain medication that can safely be prescribed. If it hurt you that much to sit up – even with all the medication in you – then you should appreciate how bad your injuries must be."

Nodding, she looked over to Ozpin. Her eyes pleaded with him. She was on the verge of breaking down. In a soothing voice, the old professor turned to the doctor and said, "would you mind going and checking on you other…patient for a while Doctor Luteous?" With a slight bow, the medical professional turned to the door and left the teachers and terrified student alone.

"Miss Scarlatina, I am going to have to ask you to stay calm," Ozpin said, his reassuring voice bringing Velvet back down to earth. "If this is too exciting or traumatic for you, then I will stop and leave you to recover. Do you understand?" The rabbit Faunus gave a quick, jerky nod, never breaking eye contact with the professor. "Very well. Two weeks ago, you had an…incident…with a few bullies. From watching security feeds as well as witness statements, we have figured out most of what happened. Do you wish me to continue?" Nod. "Two of the bullies intercepted you in the lobby outside of the cafeteria and escorted you to an empty class room. There, two more joined them. These for harassed you until one of them punched you. One of this individual's peers tried to stop him, but was…unable to. The three others fled the premises, and the individual continue to beat you. We have security feed from inside the room, so we saw what happened, but we also saw that he was speaking as well. Unfortunately, the audio receivers malfunctioned during this time, so what was said was heard by only the two of you."

At this, Ozpin paused to take a sip of Coffee from his mug, and Glynda cut in, "This next part is…difficult. Are you sure you are up to it?" Velvet had been taking the account of what happened rather well – she hadn't even cried for Oum's sake – and this concerned Glynda. The Faunus girl nodded and Glynda continued the narration. "At that point, C-…the individual is seen to stagger away from you. As the audio was still not functional, we don't know if he heard something or what, but that was when Miss Adel, Team RWBY, Miss Nikos and Miss Valkyrie arrived. Your partner knocked away this individual before- "

"Before you were carried away by Miss Rose," Ozpin interrupted. A heated glance flashed between the two of them, exposing the signs of an earlier argument. The two of them looked about to have a few…stern…words when the girl spoke up.

"Cardin," she said. "It was Cardin wasn't it?"

"What do you remember?" demanded Goodwitch, nervously clutching her riding crop.

"Nothing, not a single thing," replied the Faunus. The girl's calmness startled the two adults as much as it confused them. "You started to say his name before you caught yourself. *que the glare from Ozpin towards Glynda* Why did he do it?"

Reluctantly, Ozpin confessed, "He is currently unable to answer questions Miss Scarlatina. You see, what we didn't want to tell you was that, after Miss Rose left with you, the rest of your rescuers…ah…avenged you. They will, along with Mr. Winchester will face a disciplinary hearing as soon as he…is able." His tone was becoming noticeably more concerned. _What did they do to him?_ Velvet wondered. The beeping from some machine to her left increased, and she realized it was her heart rate monitor. She wasn't the only one who noticed. A moment later, the doctor burst in and hustled the two educators outside.

The doctor tried to speak in a very angry whisper to them, as to avoid disturbing Velvet, but her enhanced hearing picked up every word. "What do you think you're doing! She's still recovering. Get her heart rate up too much, her blood pressure will spike." They voices receded down the hall, leaving Velvet alone with her thoughts.

 _Cardin Winchester. He did this to me. Why did he do it? Is he such a bad person? What did Ozpin mean 'as soon as he is able'?_ These thoughts swirled around her jumbled mind, but one stood out among them. _Why don't I hate him?_ And it was true. Velvet could not hate him. Whether it was her kind soul or she was just in denial, Velvet Scarlatina, Huntress extraordinaire, didn't hate Cardin Winchester. _Why?_

A big hand placed itself over hers, causing the young Faunus to jump. Yatsuhashi had entered the room quietly while she was thinking. She scowled at him for a moment, but he just smiled back at her. In a moment, she broke out into a wide grin as well.

This game had been going on ever since they had become teammates. Yatsuhashi would try to sneak around her, and she would listen for him. She usually won these matches; Yatsu's incredible size didn't lend itself towards being stealthy.

"I was thinking, you cheated!" Velvet playfully chastised him.

"And since when has been a rule?" his deep voice rumbled.

"Since I made it up," retorted the huntress-in-training. "Where are the others?"

"Doctor Luteous thought it best if we didn't over-excite you," he answered. "Coco argued heavily against it, naturally, and he compromised on letting me visit since I looked like a quote 'good example'."

Velvet snorted, "Well, he just doesn't know you like we do." Sure, Yatsu was a good student, and polite and all that, but there had been this time where they went to an undisclosed location, drank some undisclosed beverages, and did some undisclosed things. Simply put, he could be an entirely different person, with some liquid courage.

"And let's be glad of it," Yatsu muttered. "How are you feeling?" The question dragged Velvet's mood back down to earth.

"Fine," Velvet attempted to assure the big swordsman. His eyebrow rose up on his forehead, letting her know it didn't work. "I don't remember what happened Yatsu. Ozpin told me, and it seemed so, horrible." On the verge of tears, she checked herself. She closed her eyes. She had to be strong. With a creak, the bed sunk down on her right, and Yatsu big, familiar arm draped itself gently around her. The dam broke. Tears flooded out of her, and she leaned into Yatsu. For a while, they just sat there, the girl crying, the boy cooing words of comfort to her. Velvet wept until the tears ran dry, and then the two just sat there.

Eventually, Velvet spoke up, "I need to see him."

"What!" asked a shocked Yatsuhashi. "Why on remnant would you need to see him?"

"Ozpin said something strange earlier," she explained. "That there would be a disciplinary hearing for everyone once he was _able_. What happened Yatsu?"

"I guess it would be easier to see than explain," he conceded. "Let me get the doctor. I don't want to move you and get you hurt." He left the room as silently as he entered, leaving Velvet on her own again.

A good ten minutes later, the doctor walked back in with an annoyed scowl on his face. Yatsu followed with a wheelchair.

"If you are set on doing this…" the doctor began. She nodded. "Then we're doing this right." The doctor – with no small measure of assistance from her teammate – transferred Velvet into the wheelchair. The various tubes and machines and whatnots attached to her were locked on behind the chair. Then the doctor gave her a small shot of painkiller, just in case.

After all these preparations, they were finally ready to go on their grand adventure…to the next room over. Velvet was entirely underwhelmed. All that work to move twenty feet. But those feelings quickly vanished. Her hand flew to her face and covered her mouth. _What have they done?_

Cardin Winchester, the once seemingly indominable bully of Beacon, lay in the bed, looking like death. One knee had some strange apparatus around it, with pins sticking into the joint. The other had nothing but a long, stitched cut on one side. _A surgical cut_ some voice in the back of her mind. A frame had been wrapped around his chest to keep his rib cage in the right shape. Huge purplish splotches covered his body, stretching up to his chest, which was covered in bandages. His hands were wrapped up as well, the tips of the fingers sticking out were tinted black. His jaw was wired shut, so it obviously had been broken. His face – although covered in bruises as well – looked oddly peaceful.

"His injuries were far more severe than yours," the doctor explained, as if reading her thoughts. "Not that I'm belittling yours. We've had to keep him on slightly risky levels of pain killers to keep him from screaming in agony. We had to replace his right knee, it was too badly destroyed to have any chance of healing. It might take him months to reach the level of health he was at prior."

The doctor droned on about the torture the boy had received, but it was too much for Velvet. Her friends, her PARTNER! They had done this to him. _They did it for you_. She slumped forward in her chair, and the world went black.

 _Hey guys. Thanks for reading this. Huge thanks to WritingwithGusto for being proofreader. Go check him out, he's a great writer. Follow if you want to keep up with the story. Favorite if you like it. Send me a review if you have an idea/question/comment. Feedback is always appreciated. I want to try something new. I'm going to start leaving you guys questions. They're just food for thought, but feel free to let me know what you think. Anyway, here's the question: Why do you think that Cardin is such a bully? I know what I'm going to do for the story, but i want to hear your opinion. Peace out._


	3. Chapter 3

His world was on fire. Agony coursed through his body instead of blood. Misery was the foundation of his existence. He needed it to stop. He couldn't live like this. Please…SAVE ME!

Physio was a bitch. It took Velvet a week to regain the strength in her knee, thanks to the brutal regime that the doctor had set up for her. The entire time, one of her teammates stayed with her for "moral support" one of them also kept an eye on Cardin the entire time. Their attentions were suffocating. Right now, Yatsu was walking next to her, carrying her backpack. She was more than capable of carrying her own books – she only limped a little now – but the big fool had taken it from her!

"One of these days, I'm going to have to steal your backpack to get even," she quipped at the swordsman. They were on their way to professor Port's class, so Velvet would actually get to participate. Professor Goodwitch wouldn't let her participate in combat class, so her three teammates had to go it alone against another full team from their year. They still won, but Velvet wanted back in.

"You may try," rumbled Yatsuhashi. "But it might be a little big for you." Velvet reappraised the bag. It was a tall as Yatsuhashi's back. She hadn't looked inside of it, but surely it couldn't be completely filled, could it?

"Maybe I'd get someone to help me carry it?" she retorted. All that did was to make him start chuckling softly. Frustrated, Velvet stuck her tongue out at the bigger boy. His laughter amplified to a roar. A moment later, the Faunus girl joined him. The two were still laughing when they reached Professor Port's class.

"Oh? It appears that some people are enjoying the day!" Port proclaimed. "This reminds me of a story from my younger days. You see, I was just a young hunter when…" He began to recite one of the numerous tales from his "younger" days. The older kids knew at this point that it was all a load of BS, but hey, let him talk the entire period. It was better than taking a test. They sat down near the back, where Coco and Fox were waiting for them.

"Took your time getting here," commented Fox. He was leaning back in his chair, listening to Port drone on. It had amazed Velvet, back when they first became a team, that the boy NEVER took any notes. Granted, there weren't many important things to write down in a Port tale, but that is neither here nor there. He had an amazing memory, and could probably recite back to any of them one of Port's stories word for word.

"Yeah, we stopped for some drive through," Velvet joked, pulling out her notebook. For the next hour, she furiously scribbled down the key points of the lecture – once Port finished his vastly important story – while her teammates tried to stay awake. By the time the bell rang, Coco had lost her battle and was snoring lightly on her desk. Fox silently slid a five lien bill to Yatsu, a part of their ongoing bet.

Rousing her partner, Velvet said, "It's time for lunch Coco." This brought the girl instantly to her feet.

"I wasn't asleep!" She proclaimed. The students left in the classroom stared at her a moment before laughing out loud. Glaring daggers from behind her shades, she addressed her team. "We have the next period free, so I say we study for Professor Peach's test."

"I'll grab lunch," volunteered Velvet. Grabbing her bag, she made to leave but was stopped by a big hand on her arm.

"I think it would be best if I got the food," Yatsu said, his tone trying to brook no argument. It didn't work.

"Nonsense, you got it before Oobleck's test Monday. That means it's my turn," argued the Faunus girl. "We have a rotation set up for a reason."

"Then I'll go with you," Coco suggested. "Yatsu does tend to eat a lot, so I'll help you carry it."

"No, I got it," protested Velvet, anger rising in her voice. "What is with you guys today?"

"How about we study down in the cafeteria," interrupted Fox. "That way we study and get lunch and we don't have to fight about who buys me lunch?" Velvet was shocked, glancing around between the three of them. Usually, they all got along fine and respected each other, but today she felt they were overruling everything he said. Suddenly, her mind flashed back over the past week. One of her teammates were always with her, but one of them was usually absent. It hit her like a truck.

"You guys are trying to baby me!" she shouted at them. At the sound of raised voices from CFVY, the lingering students vanished. Things usually got loud when they got angry. "You guys are trying to stay with me because of what happened!"

"No, it's not that," stammered Fox. "It's just that, uh…um…guys? Help me out here?"

Shaking his head, Yatsuhashi sighed, "We're just worried about you Velvet. You are our friend and teammate. We're practically family at this point. We don't want to see you hurt again."

"So what, you're going to stick one of you to me at all times?" demanded the Faunus girl.

"If we have to!" Yelled the fashionista. "I'm not going to see you hurt again!"

"So I'm just some, thing, for you guys to protect!" yelled Velvet, almost hysterically. "I'm some glass sculpture for you to show!" Her teammates tried to object, but Velvet – despite her petite size – was like an avalanche, unstoppable once it got rolling. "Well guess what, I'm not a thing! I'm a person! You can't keep me penned up-" _Your kind need to be put in pens_. She didn't know where the voice came from, but it made her angrier. She threw her pen at Yatsu, but in her mind's eye, it was a carrot. Instead of her team in front of her, it was team CRDL. Cardin threw a punch at her, and she tried to back away, but tripped. Letting out a cry, she scrambled back, away from the bully.

Her teammates voices were coming from somewhere, but she heard Cardin's voice, " _No you don't_!" He ripped her Camera from her. He started kicking her, but Velvet didn't feel the blows. But the words, they echoed in her skull. _You need to know what you've done. You need to know what pain your kind did to them. TO ME!_ The words echoed in her mind. What did I do to him? Suddenly, there were hands gripping her shoulders, shaking her.

"VELVET!" Coco screamed, tears streaming down her face. Her team was crouched around her. They were in Port's classroom. Reality sunk back into her. Sobbing, she clung to her partner.

"I re-remember," the Faunus girl cried. "I REMEMBER EVERYTHING!" Suddenly, she shoved the fashionista away and bolted to her feet. She leapt over Fox and bolted to the door. Escape, she had to get away. The cries of her team echoed behind her, but she ran on, not knowing where she was going.

Pain. His world was pain. Its waves crashed over his senses. Unending torture had become his existence. He couldn't take it anymore. Couldn't bear it. _JUST KILL ME!_

Velvet found herself on the roof of the freshmen dorm. This was her safe place. When she was bullied as a freshman, and before her teammates and her had bonded, this was where she would hide. Only a couple of people knew how to get up her. Basically, she could escape here.

But…it was a tad cold, especially in winter. A brisk wind blew through her, and she wished she had worn a jacket that day. That little voice in the back of her head told her these things, but the words fell on deaf ears (do you have ears in your mind?).

Velvet's mind was going through her memories over and over again. A near constant trail of tears streamed down her face. _Your kind needs to be put in pens._ They had, on menagerie. Velvet hadn't lived through that terrible time, but her parents had. _Your kind needs to be kept away from real people._ They had. Faunus were forced out into slums by the low wages they got from the few places they could get work. _You need to know what you've done._ But she hadn't done anything to Cardin, aside from throwing a carrot.

 _You need to know what pain your kind did to them. TO ME!_

What? Velvet considered the words for a moment. She hadn't done anything to him What did he mean? For some reason, this question started to roll around in her mind. What pain had they, the Faunus, caused Cardin Winchester. It couldn't have just been their existence. That wouldn't have given him that look of hate while he- _That look._ Her mind went back to her memories.

He had stomped on her knee, but he froze and stumbled back. He had been facing her, so the others hadn't seen the look on his face. Horror. But that wasn't it. Recognition. Cardin had seen something, looking at her, and it had terrified him. _What was it?_ Resolved, she left the roof with a new purpose. She had to see him again. She had to know why.

Was this hell? Had he been killed and this eternal pain was his punishment? He had let his righteous fury out on an innocent girl and this was the cost? He thought that he had lived, but life could not be this painful. _Unless it was._

It had taken all of Velvet's skill and Faunus senses to avoid her teammates and friends. They had split up over Campus, trying to find their lost rabbit, but she didn't want to be found. She had stolen across rooftops, crawled through vents, and dodged cameras to be here.

She stood outside of Cardin's hospital room. A nurse was attending him, so Velvet was waiting for her opportunity. She brooded over her thoughts, but a voice interrupted her.

"I had figured that you would come here." She whirled about to find a boy clad in green watching her. _Ren._

"Don't call Coco and the rest," she pleaded with him. "I have to do this."

"I haven't known you as long as your teammates," said the quiet freshman. "But I have learned one thing about you. You are trustworthy. Go in and do take care of your business. I will trust you and not call the cavalry in. But I won't get in the way of Coco if she comes for you. I do value my life still" Smiling, the Faunus girl nodded in thanks to the calm boy. Bracing herself, she entered the room.

Cardin looked slightly better. The things around his chest and knee were gone, so the bones were probably healed. But the bruises hadn't faded, they'd gotten worse. He was a purple/red/green quilt from head to knees. But that wasn't the worse thing. He was physically shaking. He lay there, apparently unconscious, but he was quaking on the bed.

"What's wrong with him?" Velvet asked, startling the nurse.

"Oh my Oum, you startled me!" The nurse cried out. Seeing Velvet's raised eyebrow, she continued. "It's just, you're his first visitor. No one else has come to see him." Strange. "Anyways, we don't know why he's shaking. It started a few days ago, and the doctors can't figure it out." The nurse finished changing his medicine and left the room. Leaving Velvet alone with the comatose boy. She stared at him for a long moment, not moving a muscle, before she spoke.

"Why did you do this to me?"

 _Why did you do this to me?_ It was the voice of the girl, the one he'd hurt. She was standing before him in hell, condemning him to his fate. Pain and anguish was his sentence. He wouldn't be able to live with himself anyways. He just wanted to die.

Velvet stared. Cardin's trembling had gotten worse. His shaking was starting to move the bed now. Suddenly, his eyes and mouth flew open. He stared at here, mouth gaping, lips drawn back in anger. _Not anger,_ she realized. _PAIN!_

"Ren!" she screamed, instantly, the young hunter-in-training burst into the room. "Get the doctor, now!" He left instantly, not even asking a question. Velvet turned and pounced on top of the thrashing boy. She straddled him and leaned down on his shoulders – trying to hold him still – but the boy's strength was tremendous. He bucked her off and she flew off the bed. She crashed to the floor, dazed. That's when she noticed something. A clear plastic tube was hanging down by the bed. Looking up, she tracked the tube up to the bag of pain medication. _Oh Oum, someone cut the tube._ She could smell it, the faintly chemical smell of the drugs on the floor.

The doctor burst in the room then, demanding, "What is going on!"

"Someone cut his medicine tube," Velvet wheezed, still trying to recover from being thrown to the floor. The doctor froze in horror, the full scope of the situation dawning on him. He sprang into action, yelling something at someone behind him. _Someones_ she realized, watching Yatsu, Ren and Jaune burst into the room.

Yatsuhashi walked up to the head of the bed, and grabbed Cardin's shoulders, pinning him down. Each of the smaller boys grabbed a leg. Realizing what they were doing, Velvet scrambled to her feet and grabbed the arm with the IV needle in it. It turned out to be a bad idea. Cardin flailed his arm – and Velvet with it – before Yatsuhashi could anchor it down.

Meanwhile, the doctor had been busy. Grabbing a syringe, he filled it with a brownish liquid before stabbing it into Cardin's shoulder. A few moments later, the arm stopped moving, even as the rest of him thrashed. Velvet let go and grabbed Cardin's head, trying to keep it from bashing into things. His eyes stared at her, pleading with her to stop it, to end his misery. His mouth was still gaping, and his breath came out as a high pitch whine. _He's screaming,_ she thought. Finally, the doctor had found a replacement tube and he re-hooked Cardin to the medicine. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then, an expression akin to bliss swept over his face. His body relaxed, and the others let go of him. But not Velvet. She clung to his head, and hear eyes gazing deep into his. As he got used to the medication, he began to look back at her, but once he recognized her, he squeezed his eyes. He began to shudder under her.

The doctor sprung to the tube again, but Velvet stopped him, "Don't! It's not the medicine." Droplets of moisture began to appear at the corners of his eyes. "You four, go wait in the hall. I'll be out in a sec, then he's all yours doc." The four obliged her, leaving and shutting the door behind her.

She bent down over him, leaning close to whisper to him, "Cardin. Cardin. Look at me Cardin." Slowly, he opened his eyes. He gazed up at her, and Velvet could see the anguish in his eyes. A wave of pity began to wash over her, but she shoved it down. She was here on a mission. "I need to know why Cardin. Why do you hate my kind? Why do you hate me?"

His eyes closed, and he winced, like she had struck him. But a moment later, he opened his mouth and rasped out, "May…twenty…twelve years ago." With that, his eyes closed. A few moments later, and his breathing became rhythmic. Sighing, she left the room. Outside, the three students were in a huddle, but looked up when she exited.

Velvet waited until the doctor went into Cardin's room before speaking up in a low tone, "Tell me right now, did any of you three do…that?" She looked up, fire burning in her brown eyes.

"No" "Never" "Of course not" the three of the chorused before they began to talk over each other. She held up a hand and their mouths slammed shut with an audible click.

"In an hour," Velvet began. "I want the three of you to get the rest of our teams – plus Yang, Blake, and Weiss – into the courtyard without their weapons." The three nodded, and she continued, "Make sure Ruby is not there; she could not have done this." More nods. "Now go, I will meet you all there then." They turned and fled the ice that was creeping into her voice. Velvet was a good person, but she was not afraid of fighting monsters. And whoever could leave Cardin like that for THREE DAYS, was a monster. For now, Velvet had research to do. _What makes a Cardin tick?_

 _Hey guys. Thanks for reading. Shoutout to WritingwithGusto for the inspiration and proof-reading. Favorite, Follow, Review, you guys know the drill at this point. Question of the Chapter: Why do you think the girls hurt Cardin so much in the first chapter? Spoiler alert, this is for a future chapter. I have my ideas, but if you come up with a better motive, I'll use it and give you a shout out. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this. Peace out!_


	4. Chapter 4

There are certain signs you need to learn to be a good leader. Coco had known her teammates for a while, and she knew most of the signs. So when Yatsuhashi kicked in the door the CFVY's room, glaring at her and Fox, she knew that some shit was going down.

"You two, courtyard, thirty minutes," he growled at them before turning and walking away. For a brief moment, nothing moved. Then the two remaining teammates turned to look at one another.

"What did you do!" they chorused. Both looked shocked. There was this one time where the two of them had pranked him – they had replaced his meditating music with some of Coco's hard rock stuff – but even then he wasn't even close to this mad. This would not be good.

...

Nora had known Ren for a while. There were certain things you picked up about him. You shouldn't ask for pancakes before three in the morning. You shouldn't play with the stormflowers. You shouldn't accidentally slip some…substances…into his tea, or record the following events on your scroll. But when Ren shouts, you know you done fucked up.

"You two. Courtyard, thirty minutes!" He shouted at the Nora and Pyrrha. The two had been studying in the dorm room – had being the operative word – when the surprisingly furious Ren stormed in.

"What's going on Ren?" Nora asked, startled. "I promise I didn't make any more fires while making pancakes. I didn't even- "

"No!" he yelled, turning on her. "If you had any part in what happened, you had better tell me right now!" Nora's lip began to quiver slightly. People had yelled at the hammer wielder before, but never Ren. "Have you two been anywhere near Cardin in the last week?" This really puzzled the two girls now.

"N-no Ren," whimpered Nora. "I haven't. You made me promise not t-to, so I didn't."

"Nor have I," Pyrrha added. "What has gotten into you?" The Amazon wrapped her arms around the still quivering Nora. The poor girl was scared silly by angry Ren. For a brief moment, the ninja looked between the two of them, as if evaluating their statements.

Finally, the young boy visibly sagged while sighing, "I'm sorry. I really am. There was just an…incident with Cardin. I can't tell you what happened, but I had to make sure it wasn't one of you." Ren opened his arms, and Nora leapt into his hug, nearly knocking him over.

Seeing her comfort was no longer needed, Pyrrha asked, "Where is Jaune?"

"Talking to team RWBY…"

"What, No! We have studying to do," Weiss scolded Jaune, looking up annoyed from her homework. "We don't have time to go have a surprise party with you guys."

"It's not a party Weiss, this is serious," Jaune pleaded, looking around the room at the four girls. Blake was enthralled in a book – Samurai's of Passion or some such thing – underneath Yang, who was playing a game on her school. Weiss was sitting at the desk studying with Ruby for the upcoming test with Goodwitch. "It's about Cardin."

"Oh is it?" Yang asked. "Are we going to get to watch him get expelled?"

"No!" Jaune yelled, surprising the four girls. "Someone tried to kill him, and right now, you guys – minus Ruby – are the lead candidates." He turned his attention to Ruby, the young girl staring at him with wide silver eyes. "One leader to another, we need to figure this out now. Get your team to the courtyard by one thirty." He stormed out of the room, leaving the girls in a state of bewilderment. Shaking, Ruby rose to her feet, glaring at her sister and friend. The two of them tried to cower into their bunks, but they couldn't escape. Next she brought her glare to rest on her partner. The normally bossy girl sat there meekly, her head hanging.

"What did you guys do after I left with Velvet?" Ruby said, tone ice cold.

...

Velvet had been one of the best students in her year – and the best on her team – since their freshmen year. She had prided herself on being able to find any information they might need for any obscure question on any test *cough Oobleck cough* to the chagrin of her peers. Others thought she had some secret bookworm working for her, while others thought she bribed the teachers. Still others thought she used some kind of black magic to summon the education gods to get answers (yeah, that's stupid). But the real secret to her success was this; the Internet.

Upon reaching the library, Velvet had reserved a study room in the library for half an hour – enough time to find the information, theoretically – and get to the courtyard before everyone else. Twenty minutes in, she realized that it may have been a tactical mistake. She, student extraordinaire, could not find a single thing on Cardin Winchester.

Frustrated, she just cruised the headlines for that week's newspapers. New dust mine opened up by the Schnee company, a couple of murders, both human and Faunus, a bullhead accident at Atlas Academy. Nothing.

It was time to call in reinforcements. Exiting the cramped room, she walked over to the Librarian.

"Um, excuse me?" she asked timidly. Upon seeing who it was, the Librarian smiled warmly. She knew Velvet; the girl almost lived in here.

"Yes dear, what can I help you with?" the kind lady asked.

"I'm looking up some information for a...an acquaintance," Velvet said. Cardin wasn't exactly her friend – obviously – but she needed a reason to look this up. "He didn't say what to look for, just a time. May twentieth, twelve years ago." The librarian looked up, a look of horror mixed with shock mixed with sadness.

"Trust me Honey," the librarian said, lowering her voice. "You don't want to look up that boy's past."

"You know who I'm looking for?" Velvet asked, surprised.

"Someone came in a few days ago, asking for the same thing. I pulled the information for him, and when he gave it back, I read it." The librarian whispered, straining the Faunus girl's hearing. "It is a horror story you don't need to be caught up in."

"You know what happened three weeks ago?" challenged Velvet. The older woman nodded. "Then you know I am the one he hurt. I need to know why. Please!" She was on the verge of crying. She was so close to understanding, but she was being stopped by this woman.

Solemnly, the librarian lowered her head. Reaching underneath her desk, she pulled out a manila folder. On the cover, it was labeled _Cardin Winchester: History_. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Nodding, Velvet took out the folder and retreated to her room. Locking the door, she plopped the folder down on the desk. Upon inspection, in appeared to be a collection of newspaper clippings. _The Vale report. The Hunter._ Taking a deep breath, she opened the folder and gazed at the first article.

 _JUDGE AND WIFE FOUND DEAD_

 _Yesterday, the twentieth of May, Judge Whey and his wife, Velvet, were found tortured and murdered in a back alley on the North side of Vale._

Oh no.

 _Both bodies were found horribly mutilated. Velvet Whey, pronounced dead on the scene, had several large slashes on her torso. Her fingers had been removed as well as her teeth. Evidence of sexual assault were later discovered by forensic scientists. Judge Whey had similar treatment on his body. In addition, his eyes had been removed. According to police, there were signs of teeth marks around the eyes, implying that someone had eaten the eyes out of his face. Although rushed to the hospital, doctors announced his death early the next morning._

Oum this was horrible, but what did it have to do with Cardin?

 _Both of the Whey's children were found at the scene. Victoria, the elder child, had not escaped harm either. Her thumbs had been removed by, the police say, the same tool that had removed her parent's fingers. Several large cuts were on her face, and evidence of sexual assault was present as well. Their younger child, Cardin, did not have any physical injuries, but was found tied up with his eyes taped open. Police believe he was made to watch the horrors done to his family._

Cardin. Oh Cardin. By now, tears were streaming freely down Velvet's face. She was aghast at the nightmares she had just read. What had he done to deserve this. She couldn't bear to read any more of that article, so she flipped to the next page. It consisted of the obituaries of Cardin's parents. Apparently, Judge Whey had been one of the best Judges in Vale. Free from corruption, he was equally hard on humans and Faunus. A quote from read, "I don't care who you are, what you are, who you know, or where you're from. The law is the law, and if you break it, you will accept the consequences." Although moving, there was no mention of the hunter in training. Flipping to the next article, she was greeted by two mugshots and a huge headline.

 _WHEY MURDERERS CAUGHT_

 _This past Saturday, the murderers of Judge way and his wife, the same people who had brutalized the entire family, were apprehended by the Atlas military._

Atlas?

 _The murders, a group of three Faunus, were found hiding in an abandoned warehouse on the southern side of Atlas. The three – a deer Faunus, a wolf Faunus, and a rabbit Faunus – were found with evidence of a plan to carry out a similar attack against the well-known Schnee family._

Oh god. It all made sense now. Why he hated the Faunus. Why he hated _her._ Not only that, but the people who had hurt him had almost gotten Weiss too. The thought shook her to her core. She almost threw away the whole folder in disgust, but at the last second she saw one more article. _What more could he have gone through._ Her hand shaking, she pulled out the final paper. She was greeted with a noose and headline.

 _Victoria Winchester found dead at residence._

 _Victoria Winchester, formerly Victoria Whey, was found hanging in her closet in the Winchester estate this past Saturday, not six months after she and her brother were adopted by Thomas Winchester of Winchester Security. 'She killed herself' Police say. 'There is no doubt about it.'_

Horrified, Velvet skipped to the last line of the article.

 _With the light of another life gone, Cardin Winchester finds himself alone, the sole survivor of the Whey family._

She wept. She cried and cried until she couldn't cry anymore. Pity washed over Velvet's senses. She had never known, never guessed that Cardin – for all his tough, brash exterior – had seen these kinds of nightmares. It was as bad as any Faunus horror story, as bad as the stories Velvet's parents had told her of the Menagerie.

Eventually, through bloodshot eyes, Velvet looked up at the clock. Everyone would be outside by now. Breathing deeply, Velvet steeled herself for what was to come.

...

Teams JNPR, RWBY, and CFVY – sans the v – had been waiting in the courtyard for a good ten minutes before Velvet showed up. In that time, Yatsuhashi, Ren, and Jaune had spoken to the entire group about what had happened. Everyone there had claimed not to have been in to see Cardin since Velvet had woken up. Of course, not everyone believed everyone else.

"You've always threatened to break his legs," shouted Coco at a certain Orange haired girl. She was being restrained by Yatsuhashi – it was really unfair how he could just pick anyone up and hold them – so she didn't do anything stupid. "How do we know you didn't do this?"

"Because I've been with Ren the whole time, you shady bitch?" Nora yelled back, her entire team desperately holding her back. Team RWBY spectated this match. Yang had suggested getting popcorn, but all that earned her was a slap to the back of the head.

"Shady! SHADY!" Coco roared before kicking Yatsu in a very…sensitive spot. Fox tried to leap on her, but was knocked away by the smaller girl. "Bring it, syrup slut!" Things would have gone to dust, had a certain rabbit Faunus not arrived.

"SHUT IT ALL OF YOU!" The entire group eyes swiveled as one to the short girl. She stood in front of all of them, her eyes bloodshot, her hand resting menacingly on her camera case. "I'm going to ask this once, did any of you cut the line to Cardin's medication?" No one spoke up. "Since none of you spoke up, I'll take it as you didn't do it."

"Of course we didn't Velvet," Fox said, trying to placate the mad bunny. "You know all of us, we wouldn't do that."

"Then this is what we need to do," Velvet shouted. She climbed up onto the edge of the fountain so that everyone could see her. "Team RWBY!" Ruby snapped a salute, but pulled her hand down. A blush turned her face the color of her cloak. "You four will take up guarding Cardin. He is not to come to any harm on your watch. Team JNPR, you will speak to the Hospital staff. Try to identify who did attacked him." The two freshmen teams turned and sprinted off to do their tasks.

"Wow Velvs," commented Coco. "I like the confidence, but you're starting to confuse me, and maybe scare me as well." Velvet hopped down from the fountain's rim before looking at her partner.

"And why's that?"

"Well…" Coco began. "Why do we suddenly like Cardin? He just tried to kill you less than a month ago for Oum's sake. You're protecting that low-life likes he's"

"Stop," interrupted Velvet. "Don't say another word about him until you've heard what I've said. All the pain I went through, that he is going through, he's had it worse before. He's seen the stuff of nightmares; lived through it. If anyone deserves out help, it's him. I won't tell you why yet – it's not my place to – but I'm asking you, as your friend, teammate and partner, trust me on this."

The three of them gaped at Velvet. Not a month before, the girl had been beaten to a pulp by this guy, and now she was defending him as one of their own? Eventually, Coco spoke up, "I'm going to say this for all of us. We trust you with our lives. If you say that he deserves our help, we'll believe you. Oum knows, I've done some bad things. But you had better have a damn good reason for all this."

Sighing with relief, Velvet nodded, "There is a reason, but it is not my reason to tell. For now, I need you guys to do this. Coco, you and Fox go to Professor Goodwitch. Tell her about the attempt on Cardin and what we're doing." Velvet could see the suppressed groan on her partner's face, but she forged on. "Yatsu and I will meet you in at our room when we're done." The other two nodded and left.

Turning to face the big swordsman, Velvet was greeted by a weird expression. Something between respect, awe, and compassion. She raised an eyebrow, so he said, "You…are a good person Velvet Scarlatina. Not many people would be this kind to someone who had hurt them." He gave her a small bow before continuing. "What is it we are doing?"

"Well…" something was nagging at the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite place it. Her team had trusted their safety to her instincts in the field before, and those instincts were telling her to go to the library. "We're going to learn something."

"I see you're back," the Librarian said to Velvet as she approached the desk. "I took your stuff out of the study room and put them back here, one second."

"Actually," mumbled Velvet. "I need to ask you a question about the…information you gave me earlier."

Shuddering, the librarian turned to her, "That was some awful stuff, but that was all of it. I hope it helps you with your research paper."

"Research paper?" questioned the Faunus girl.

"Yes, I assumed you needed it for the same reason as the other boy."

Catching on, Yatsuhashi interrupted, "Ma'am, the life of a boy depends on the answer to the next question. Who got was the boy who got the information?"

Stunned, the poor woman stammered out, "I d-don't remember his name. I-I can pull up the feed from the security c-camera." As she turned to her computer, Velvet's scroll buzzed in her pocket. Nodding to Yatsuhashi, she stepped away and took the call.

"Yes?"

"Velvet?" asked Jaune. "This is Jaune." No kidding. "We found something. In the visitor log, Cardin didn't get any visitors. However, three days ago, Sky Lark visited someone right across the hall from Cardin."

"Did you check on the Camera?" Velvet impatiently asked.

"No such luck. The entire system was down for about fifteen minutes, right when he was there. We texted Coco to tell Ms. Goodwitch. By the way, Coco told us that she was headed to her, so to pass any information to her first." Velvet nodded.

Yatsu was calling for her frantically at the computer, so she hurriedly hung up on Jaune. She turned back to the librarian's computer, but froze as she registered what was on the screen. On the monitor, frozen in time, was a picture of a boy with a blonde mohawk taking the file from the Librarian. _Russel Thrush_

 _Hey peoples, thanks for reading. Favorite, follow, review, all that fun stuff. This chapter was really hard to write. There was no back story for Cardin that I could find, so I decided on going tragic. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Question of the post: What is your favorite ship? A few people asked me about it, so i wanted to know what you guys think. I, personally, am a huge fan of Freezer-burn/Ladybug. Peace out._


	5. Chapter 5

_Before I begin, i just wanted to say thank you so much to you guys, the readers. The support on this has been incredible. It means a lot to me that this many people are interested in my writing. Anyways, enjoy._

Officially, Ozpin had introduced a new learning strategy. One of the second year teams would be given one or two of the first year teams and a mission. By some coincidence (cough*Glynda*cough), team CFVY was given teams JNPR and RWBY. Their official mission: assist the Vale Police Department in suppressing underage criminal activities. Their actual mission: find Cardin's teammates and bring them back to beacon; alive, but by any means necessary.

This was why Coco found herself sitting on top of a roof on an early Saturday morning, a week after the attack on Cardin. Normally, she'd be powering through clothes stores and boutiques like Blake through books, but her partner was insistent.

"You know, this is what we have the younger teams for," she explained to Velvet. "They could sit here and keep an eye on things."

"Except that they are all deployed across town, just as Yatsuhashi and Fox are," the Faunus girl replied. One of these days, Coco would have to learn that going through the same arguments again and again wouldn't lead to different results.

"We could just split up the partners?"

"And then what if one of them got hurt? They wouldn't have any back up or support."

"Ugh, why do you have to be so right all the time?"

"Well, one of us has to be," smirked Velvet. Their harmless banter went on for a few more minutes before Coco's scroll began to vibrate.

"Go for Coco," Velvet rolled her eyes. "Alright, follow at a distance. Call for bumblebee to support. JNPR and CFVY will meet up as soon as possible," Coco hung up. "Got that?" She asked her partner. Velvet nodded before standing up and dusting herself off.

"I'll call Yatsu, you call Jaune?" Coco nodded and started fiddling on her phone.

"Tell them industrial district, south side. And to be quick, we can't guarantee that the freshmen will wait."

Seeing two boys, hogtied, with cookies shoved in their mouths, usually would be an amusing sight. When the boys were Russel Thrush and Sky Lark, and team RWBY was looming over them, the effect was slightly…lessened.

"What happened to following them?" Coco asked.

"Despite our best-est, most stealthiest efforts, they were able to detect our stalking them," Ruby explained in a slightly less than believable voice.

"Ruby sneezed and fell of the roof," Weiss corrected. Nora burst into laughter, causing the younger leader to hide in her hood.

"Well, I suppose that is what we get for asking first years to do this," Fox said over the protest of said freshmen.

"That just leaves us one thing to do," Coco said, walking over to the two boys. "We need to take these guys to Goodwitch." She gestured to Yatsu, and he hoisted the two boys onto his shoulder. Before they could leave, Velvet spoke up.

"Wait, I need to ask them something." Sighing, the big swordsman dropped the boys back down, eliciting a grunt from both of them. Tears were beginning to form in the corners of their eyes. The Faunus girl paced a slow circle around the captured students. The other eleven students watched with befuddlement.

Finally, Velvet knelt down and pulled the baked goods out of their mouths, before asking, "Why?"

"They have Dove!"

The various hunter academies had been forming their students into teams since their foundation. The purpose – besides making dorm assignments easier – was so that the members of said teams would bond together and learn teamwork. It was almost expected that they would become like families. Some – we're looking at you STRQ – would take that quite literally. This was why the horror of the attack on Cardin was, well, a horror.

But as it turns out, not even bullies like Sky and Russel could break that bond. After the attack on Velvet, Cardin's three comrades had fled to Vale to escape possible retribution from the Faunus's teammates. Unable to afford a hotel room in either the commercial, residential, or upper-class districts, they hid in an abandoned warehouse in the industrial district. As it was, the building wasn't so abandoned. The White Fang had found the three of them, and knocked them out. Sometime later, they had woken up. Some redhead with a cane had questioned them…vigorously. Weeks, they were locked into a closet. Finally, another redhead – this one a Faunus with a Grimm mask – told them what they would do.

Sky would go and try to kill Cardin, quote, for what he did for Faunus kind. He swiped a scalpel from a supply closet. He was going to cut open his throat. Let him bleed out in his sleep; painless and un aware. But when the moment came, when he was standing over his team leaders bed, he just couldn't do it. He couldn't cut his leaders throat. So he cut his medicine. Sky wasn't a doctor, or even much of a smart student, so he didn't realize that it was high power painkillers. He didn't exactly need them to remain alive. Russel was told to get into Beacon's system and get Cardin's records. The strange dude never told him why just that he had to do it. Dove would be kept as…insurance. If the other two didn't listen, the Dove would show up at the school, bit by bit.

"Wow," Jaune said. "Not good."

"No kidding," added Yang.

"Ok," Coco snapped, drawing everyone's attention. "I get why you did what you did, but still, not cool." Everyone turned to her, confusion on their faces. "This is what we are going to do. JNPR, you're going to escort these two back to the school. Take them to Goodwitch, explain the situation, and tell her the rest of us are going for Dove."

"Um," Ruby interrupted. "How are we going to find him?"

"They've undoubtedly moved him by now, even just so that they wouldn't have to watch more places than they needed to," added Blake, the resident expert.

"Could you find him?" asked Sky.

"Maybe. They may have found new hideouts, but they still have the same habits," Blake answered in her monotone.

"Good, plan stays the same," Coco summarized. They started to split up, but Velvet pulled her partner aside. "What's up?"

"There's something I need to do before we go in," Velvet said. "I'll accompany JNPR back to Beacon, then meet you. Text me where when you get there." She turned away and took off in pursuit of JNPR, trying to make the next airship.

...

All in all, the warehouse would probably be better described as a fortress. Almost a hundred white fang were present, each one of them armed to the teeth, some a little more than that. Thousands of stolen dust rounds loaded into hundreds of advanced guns. Not exactly Coco's definition of a fun night on the town.

"Ok, one more time, what's the plan?" she asked the six people around her. RWBY, fox, and Yatsuhashi stood in a semicircle in front of her. Despite the cool night air, they were nearly hopping about with energy (except Yatsuhashi because, well, Yatsuhashi).

"My team goes in and causes a distraction," Ruby said. "'Yang and Blake at the east Entrance, Weiss and I through the skylight." Nodding, Coco turned to the boys.

"We go in, get Dove, and meet up by Yang and Blake," grumbled Yatsuhashi. He had been particularly glum about the assignment. I mean, seriously, who wants to fight a hundred White Fang grunts by themselves. "You stay here, direct from above, and act as support." Satisfied, she shooed the people away, but a voice spoke up behind her.

"And what about us?" Whirling about, coco found Velvet standing behind her, camera at the ready. Smiling, she sauntered over to the assembled students. "I hope you weren't planning on leaving us out."

"Good to see you Velvs, but what are you talking about?"

"We just got here. I thought we might want some back-up, so I got…" she trailed off, glancing at the empty spot next to her, clearly expecting to see someone. Suddenly, an enormous crashing sound came from the warehouse. Sprinting to the edge, the four students were amazed by what they saw. Cardin Winchester, clad in his armor, was engaging the Faunus terror group alone and unarmed. It would have been a brave, almost noble, sight if it wasn't so stupid.

"Alright, we're going now. Do your guys' jobs. Velvet, try to rein Cardin in a bit, OK?" Coco said. They all sprinted off, eager to join battle. Velvet quietly thought to herself, _please don't be hurt when I get there._

 _..._

Dead eyes. The White Fang guards were quaking in fear at the onslaught before them. Cardin Winchester was barreling through the defenders by himself. The whole time, he gazed at them with dead eyes; as if he were completely devoid of emotion. He fought through the tides of masked faces in complete silence.

 _Earlier…_

 _'Miss Scarlatina, I understand how important you think seeing him is, but I'm telling you, it won't do any good,' Doctor Luteous said from the hall. Cardin gave no sign of hearing him. What did he care anymore? His world was pain. All he did was cause pain._

 _'Why is that?' asked a female voice with a slight accent. It sounded familiar to Cardin, but in his state, the words simply washed over him. He was pain._

 _'Because he hasn't said a word since he woke up,' explained the doctor. 'Not to me, not to the Nurses, not to Ozpin when he came to talk to the boy about what he had done.'_

 _'He'll talk to me doctor,' said the woman's voice. The strange feeling of recognition hit him again, but it passed. He just looked forward. 'Just let me see him alone for five, ten minutes, and if nothing happens, I'll go.' A few moments of silence passed, but eventually a slight swishing noise came from the door as it opened._

 _'Five minutes, that's it.'_

 _'Thank you doctor, it won't take long.' Two steps, then a gasp came from the woman. A few moments later, a scraping sound echoed in the room. A girl entered his line of sight, dragging a chair behind her. He didn't react for a moment, but then he realized something. She had two, enormous bunny ears on the top of her head. It was her. She was here to end his pain, like she had before._

Now…

Punch. Block. Kick. Spin. Velvet had to admit, even in his state, Cardin was a hell of a fighter. The gladiator caught the blade of a Faunus's sword on his Vambrace. A counter punch sent the attacker flying. But even as he struck, another came up behind the boy and hit him square in the back with a blow from an ax. Staggered, Cardin stumbled forward into a burst of machine gun fire. The boys' aura picked up most of the hits, but even from ten meters away Velvet could hear the pings of a few rounds bouncing off his armor.

Screaming, the rabbit-girl jumped onto the shoulders of the ax guy. She locked her feet around his head before momentum carried her forward. She summersaulted in the air and flung the ax dude into machine gun dude. Suddenly, a blow caught her in the side and flung her away. Her aura absorbed the strike, but shattered from the rough landing she endured as she hit a wall. Gasping, she looked back to see a Paladin standing where she had been moments before. _Naturally._ Struggling, she pulled herself to her feet. If she was going to die, she'd die fighting on her feet, like a true huntress would. Closing her eyes, she braced for the shot, or blow, or whatever it was going to do to kill her. It never came. Her eyes cracked open, then flew wide as she took in the sight before her. Cardin was fighting the enormous machine, still unarmed. She slumped back down to the floor. If he was fighting it, maybe she could just close her eyes and…

 _Earlier…_

 _Two small, warm hands grabbed his. He looked at them. His hand was enormous compared to them – the smaller hands couldn't even conceal his palm – but they held it none the less._

 _'Look at me Cardin,' the voice came again. He didn't want to; he didn't deserve to look into those kind eyes. 'Cardin.' Slowly his gaze rose to meet hers. Her eyes were wet with suppressed tears. 'I looked up what you told me.' What was she talking about? 'I know what happened to you, to your family.' That did it. Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks, but still he wouldn't speak. He didn't deserve to._

 _Cardin felt a tug on his hand, and he was pulled forward into a hug – the girl had surprisingly strong arms – before she spoke to him. 'It's ok, let it go Cardin. You don't have to be strong for me, just let me in.'_

 _A single, quiet sob escaped him and he wrapped his arms around the girl as he said, 'I'm…sorry.' He wept freely into her shoulder. She murmured something into his ear, but Cardin couldn't tell what it was._

 _'Cardin?' the girl said, pulling from the embrace. He looked into her face, his blood shot eyes meeting hers. 'There's something I need your help with.' Yes. Anything he could do, he'd help. 'Dove is in trouble; the White Fang took him. I need your help to get him out and home free.' No, anything but that. She wanted him to fight, to hurt. But then again, wasn't that all he was. He was pain._

Now…

Cardin's lips peeled back into a silent snarl. He rushed the paladin, but the thing hardly noticed him. It was turning towards Yang and Blake. It had already gotten Velvet. He had seen that blow, but could stop it.

An aura enhanced punch connected with the things knee, bending it out of shape, but not shattering it. _Dust._ Then it turned on him, its right hand had formed a fist while its left remained a gun. The fist smashed down toward him, but he rolled away from it. Slivers of concrete ricocheted off of his armor. He heard the machine gun open fire, and reflexively spun away from the fire. He rushed again, scooping some White Fang grunt's sword off the ground. He threw it at the paladin's gun, trying to hit the barrel to stop it. Naturally, he missed wide right by about ten feet. The huge fist came around again and struck him hard enough to land next to Velvet. His aura shattered in a flash.

 _Clank Clank Clank._

The massive machine bore down on the injured pair. Velvet couldn't even sit up anymore. Her chest looked dented to Cardin. At least a few broken ribs, but her breath came in ragged gasps.

 _Clank Clank…click._

The machine had stopped a dozen feet from them, machine gun aimed at the crippled students. With a herculean effort, Cardin pulled himself up to his feet. The guns tracked him, the laser sights painting red dots across his chest. The gladiator flung his arms wide. _Shoot me._

 **BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG**

 _Earlier…_

 _'Come on Cardin, we need you for this,' Velvet pleaded. Cardin shook his head slowly, as if that movement took all his energy. 'Please, it's your teammate, your friend, who's in danger. He needs you to save him,' He kept shaking his head. He couldn't save anyone. All he could cause was pain._

 _'I need you Cardin,' His head snapped up, meeting her eyes. Fresh tears were welling up in the corners of her eyes. 'I am not sure if I can go out there and fight them. I don't know what is going through you head, whether this is some kind of self-punishment or something,' a tear slid down her cheek. 'But if you want to be better than who you were before, start with this. Start with saving someone.' Turning, she grabbed a duffle bag from behind her. It gave off a loud clang as she pulled it in front of him. 'Here is your armor and weapon. The airship leaves in five minutes.' With a sob, she stood up and left the room._

 _One silent, agonizingly slow minute went by, and Cardin did not stir. But something began in the back of his mind. He tried to quash it down, but it kept coming. One strong, unyielding word. VELVET. Sitting bolt upright, he remembered the connection. It was the girls' name. But he had known another Velvet, and her last words came back to him._

 _'Look away Cardin, you'll be alright, just look aw- 'she had been killed, and he did nothing to stop it. They had told him he was just a kid, that he couldn't have done anything, but it wasn't true. He could have done something. After all, he thought as he opened the duffel bag, he was pain. Two minutes, and he dressed in armor. He grabbed for his mace, but stopped. No one had known, but it had been his father – his real father's – weapon. After he died, it went to Victoria, and after her, to him. He didn't deserve to carry it anymore. They had been good people, kind people, and had used the weapon to protect and give justice. He hadn't. Turning, he left the mace in the hospital room. Two minutes later, he was climbing on board the airship. He spotted the Faunus girl – Velvet – sitting with her back to the entrance. Silently, he took seat next to her. She nearly jumped out of her seat, but instead ended up wrapping a slender arm around him._

 _'Thank you,' she whispered to him, giving him a quick hug. He carefully wrapped one around her before he answered, his voice nothing more than a horse whisper._

 _'Never…again.'_

Now…

The shots didn't hit Cardin. Instead, the Paladin nearly exploded in the hail of bullets. He turned his head and looked at the source. It was a certain, very pissed off second year with a mini-gun.

"Leave. Them. ALONE!" she roared, pouring lead into the machine. The pilot had to eject before the whole war machine exploded. A searing pain erupted in his shin, and Cardin fell in a soundless shriek. A foot-long piece of shrapnel had imbedded itself in his shin, going right through his bone. He toppled to his side. Through bleary eyes and waves of pain, he saw eleven figures running towards him. Someone – he couldn't tell who – screamed Velvet as they ran. _Oh, right._

Slowly, the wounded gladiator rolled over to see Velvet lying in a motionless heap. In horror, Cardin realized she wasn't breathing anymore. _She must have popped a lung._ Hauling himself to her, Cardin placed a hand in the center of her chest.

"Never…again" came his horse whisper. A brilliant flash of light blinded the approaching students before pain erupted through his chest. The last thing her heard before slipping into the void, was the loud, ragged gasp of the Faunus girl. _Saved…her…rest…now…_

 _Hey reader, Favorite/Follow/Review if you like the story and want to see it continue. This chapter was really hard to write, so I hope y'all liked it. Question of the Chapter: What do you think is going to happen in Volume 4? I've been browsing around the youtube and found a few fan theories, but the one that the rest of JNPR is going to die, which is what caused me to ask this question. Anyways, hope you guys liked it. Peace out_


	6. Chapter 6

"It's called pain transference," Doctor Luteous said to the assembled students in the campus hospital waiting room. Teams RWBY, CFVY, and JNPR, were there, hearing the doctor's verdict on his patient. "It's a rare semblance that allows a person to transfer pain from one person to themselves, or vice versa."

"But how did that fix the broken bones?" Ruby asked, sitting on her sister's lap.

"Perhaps I wasn't clear; it transfers whatever is causing pain. It could be anything from a paper cut to crushed bones," the doctor said, maintaining his emotionless, monotone voice. "It can't replace a severed limb, or death, but can fix just about anything short of that. However, it can also transfer emotional and mental pain. If you have a terrible headache from a test, then a person with this semblance could transfer the pain from you."

"That's actually kind of cool," commented Coco, getting a scowl from the Doctor.

"Cool, perhaps, but it is very dangerous," continued the doctor. "Someone with this semblance could hold onto pain for a very long time. Physical injuries would eventually heal, as the body would take care of itself. However, the pain from said injury would remain. The same goes for emotional and mental pain. Whatever caused the pain might go away or get better, but the person would still feel the agony of it."

"Oh…" the collective group exclaimed, the extent of the semblances' effects dawning on them.

"Question," interrupted Weiss. "What would the long-term effects of this semblance do to someone?"

"Good question," sighed Doctor Luteous, collapsing into a seat. It was apparent that he wouldn't be able to escape this group until they were sated. "This semblance is so rare that any concrete data is hard to determine. However, I can give you tendencies and speculations. There have been no physical side effects of the semblance recorded, but that does not mean the individual goes unaffected. They are constantly aware of the pain that they feel. Some cases say it is comparable to Phantom pain, when a person feels pain in their severed limb, even though the pain is gone. It also tends to act like PTSD, in that a person is sometimes caught in a flashback to whatever caused the pain; reliving the incident even if they were not the ones to receive the injury. There is a list a mile long of all the psychological issues resulting from this, ranging from depression to ADD to, in some very extreme cases, complete insanity or mental shutdown. Your friend will be lucky to survive, and even if they do, they most likely will not be the same person."

...

Velvet sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the dying boy in front of her. Cardin lay in the same room he had been in earlier that day. He looked horrible. The paladin had done a number on him. He leg was broken, again. His rib cage had been shattered, but the doctors had been able to mend all the bones with some kind of advanced atlas-dust gizmo. That wasn't the problem. Cardin was in a medically induced coma due to the agonizing pain his body was feeling. Velvet had listened to the doctor explain his semblance earlier. Unbidden, memories of the earlier fight rose in her mind.

 _She had fallen after Cardin had attacked the Paladin. Her bleary eyes had watched the fight until the lights began to go out. Every breath had been excruciating and an effort of will. But eventually, she couldn't bring herself to take another breath. She gave up the fight, happy with her life. Memories were going before her eyes. She had always been kind and helpful, despite the hate and prejudice directed toward her. She had lived, laughed, learned and loved in her short-wait, what was the last one? Before her thoughts had gone any further, she felt a hand on her chest. It burned hot like fire, and yet it was as cold as ice. The feeling filled her chest, before slipping away, back into the hand. She realized how much her lungs were burning and drew in a deep gasp. A couple of coughs escaped her, but she was tackled back down by a massive impact. Opening her eyes, she looked down to see Coco wrapping her in a fearsome hug. Tears were flowing down her cheeks._

 _"What happened?" asked Velvet, confused by the outburst of emotion._

 _"You-you were lying there, and-and-and not breathing, but C-cardin, he touched you, and there w-was this flash of light," the leader stammered out between sobs. "W-wait, Cardin?" turning around, she looked over her shoulder. Velvet leaned to the side to peer at what Coco was looking at. Cardin was lying on his chest, one hand stretched out. Even though he was lying face down, she could tell something was wrong with his chest. Coco sat up in Velvet's arms and began barking orders. "Ruby, you and your team secure the prisoners until the police arrive. Fox, call a bullhead. Yatsu, pick him up, carefully." The six teenagers sprang into action, like sprinters from the starting line. Coco hauled herself to her feet._

 _"Velvet," she asked, her tone softening, "I know this is hard, and you're going to want to stick with Cardin, but I need you to go into the back and look for any useful intel. Got it?" The Faunus girl nodded, then bounded off into the rear hallways._

"Miss Scarlatina?" a female voice asked. Shaking herself, Velvet turned to look at the speaker. It was professor Goodwitch. "Now that you're back here, I need to ask you to leave. Cardin needs to recover, and you need your rest." Before Velvet had a chance to respond, an almighty glare came from the female teacher. Velvet nearly dove out of the room. Sighing, the teacher turned back to the unconscious student. "Mr. Winchester, what are we going to do with you?"

...

The next day, while the students were eating lunch in the cafeteria, an announcement came over the intercom.

"Would teams JNPR, RWBY, and CFVY please report to the headmasters' office immediately," the disembodied voice of Glynda Goodwitch said. About fifteen minutes later, the teams had assembled in Ozpin's office, where they were met by not only Ozpin and Goodwitch, but the Chief of the Vale Police Department.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, sorry for the…public summons," began Ozpin. "but we've delayed this long enough. Chief Trout here has been patient enough, but it is time we settled this matter once and for all."

"What matter?" asked Coco challengingly.

"The matter, young lady," grunted Trout. "Of the multiple abuse and assault cases that you were all a part of. For the record, although they are not facing criminal charges for their actions, Sky Lark, Dove Bronzewing and Russel Thrush have left Beacon Academy." A collective gasp ran through the assembled students – except the ever stoic Yatsuhashi and the ever silent Ren – before the police commissioner continued. "Misters Daichi, Alistair, Ren, and Arc, along with Miss Schnee and Miss Rose, would you please step back. As you had no part in the assault on Mister Winchester, you will not be facing any punishment." The five students backed up enough to satisfy the police officer, but remained close enough to comfort – or restrain – their friends and teammates. "You as well Miss Scarlatina." Nodding, Velvet backed up to join the larger part of her comrades.

The remaining five girls huddled together, almost cowering from the police chief. For a brief moment, the surly police chief just stared at them, before he began speaking again, "For how you four are acting, you know exactly what you did and that it was wrong. For the record, we have video evidence of you five attacking, torturing, Mister Winchester. Do you have anything to say on that?" Silence. "Very well. Normally, the punishment for this sort of crime is five to ten years' imprisonment. However, given that you are minors, the extenuating circumstances of the attack, and the service you have collectively done for the good of the People of Vale, a…more suitable punishment has been decided upon by us. You will all complete two weeks or sixty hours of community service, as well as see a certified psychologist for anger management until she is satisfied with your progress. You may continue your studies, but you will be restricted to the Beacon Campus until you have completed your community service. Do you all understand?" Nods, as well as more than a few tears of relief, were given by the assembled girls.

"I hope you five learned something from this," Professor Goodwitch said, speaking for the first time since they have arrived. "You may leave and return to class. That is all." The group started filing towards the door, except one short girl.

"What's going to happen to him?" Velvet asked, standing her ground.

"To who?"

"Cardin. What are you guys going to do with him?"

The police chief smiled in what was supposed to be a warm way, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You don't have to worry about him now. He'll be expelled, and face prison time. Some Faunus rights groups are filing for counting his actions as a hate crime and want capital punishment."

"No!" shouted the young huntress-in-training. The others in the room turned and gawked at her. "Don't file any criminal charges against him."

"Young lady," pleaded the police chief. "What is the meaning of this? You know better than any of us that he deserves this."

"No, he doesn't," she growled back, a dangerous scowl contorting her face. "He deserves help and care, not bars and a record. You don't know what he's been through."

"And you do?" challenged the police chief, matching her glare with every bit the same intensity.

"If you don't mind, Chief Trout" interrupted Ozpin, his voice barely being above a whisper yet still silencing the two parties. "I would like to speak with Miss Scarlatina on this…alone. I'm sure you're very busy, considering what went down yesterday." The other man harrumphed but obliged, leaving the office by way of the elevator. Ozpin cleared his throat before giving a meaningful to each of the team leaders. The students left as soon as the elevator returned, leaving Velvet alone with Ozpin and Goodwitch. "Now, Miss Scarlatina, I am a tad curious as to your sudden compassion and defensiveness with the person who brutally injured you around a month ago."

"You guys know his semblance?" the Faunus girl asked. Both instructors nodded. "And his background?" More nods. "They you should know that Cardin Whey should not go to prison. He has suffered in his life, more than anyone person should have to endure. He may have hurt me, but he also saved my life last night. That's why he is laying down there in the medical wing. He's dying because of me." A tear began to roll down her cheek, so she squinted her eyes shut. A moment later, a comforting hand rested itself on her shoulder, and Velvet looked up into the eyes of…Miss Goodwitch? The older woman had walked over to Velvet and was smiling down at her softly.

"You're a good person Velvet. Not many people would act the way you are, with some much empathy," the woman said in a subdued voice before wrapping the younger girl in a tender embrace.

"I had a hunch you would be against a harsh sentence," Ozpin said over his ever-present coffee mug. "So here is what I purpose to you, Miss Scarlatina. There is a policy that some institutions practice, that is becoming increasingly commonplace, where they try to rehabilitate those with troubled pasts, sometimes criminal records, by pairing them up with a good person so that they can see in example. My proposition to you is this; You would assume responsibility for Cardin's rehabilitation. Since his team has now left the academy, Cardin would become an Honorary member of you team. You'd all be moved into a slightly bigger room, so you could all bunk together, and from then on you'd all be a team. He would still need to go to a professional psychologist regularly, both for his semblance and for his rehabilitation."

Velvet was stunned. She sagged into one of the chairs across from Ozpin, gaping at the spectacled man. His idea was…was…brilliant. "I'd love to," Velvet gushed out. "But I'd need to talk to my team first. And what about work. If he'd be joining us, he'd have to- "

"Yes, Miss Scarlatina," Professor Goodwitch said. Velvet hadn't even noticed her walk around back beside Ozpin. "It would be complicated, but I agree with your first point. Go talk to your team, let them know, but only them. However, keep in mind, this is your choice and yours alone. Once you have reached your decision, send me a message on your scroll. You, your team, and teams RWBY and JNPR have been excused from classes today. Now go, see your friends." Velvet hopped to her feet and backed toward the elevator door – babbling thank-you's and apologies the entire way – until the elevator door cut her off. She let out a long sigh. This was not going to be fun.

...

Silence reigned in team CFVY's shared dorm room. Velvet had finished repeating the deal the Ozpin had given her and had sworn the team to secrecy until the matter was resolved. Now, they just sat there digesting the information. Velvet stood up in front of them nervously, fidgeting with her belt and camera.

"So," Fox began. "We take care of Cardin until we graduate, and we get a bigger dorm, right?" Velvet nodded. "Well, I'm game. That way I probably won't have to sleep under Yatsu anymore." He jibbed, giving the swordsman a friendly punch on the arm.

"Really!" Velvet exclaimed, her voice coming out something like a squeak. "You're not against it?"

"You said before that he had a reason he acted the way he had." Yatsu said, his quiet voice rumbling in his chest. "That still holds, at least for me. If you believe this is a good idea, then we're with you. Why so surprised? Were we not supposed to agree?"

"No, it's not that," Velvet said, beginning to babble. "I just didn't think you guys would cause we'd have to move our stuff and help him catch up to us and the- "

"Velvs," Coco said, grabbing the Faunus' arm. Velvet closed her mouth with an audible click. "We ok with it. He saved your life after all. That more than clears him in my book." The leader smiled at her partner. "If you think you can handle him, then go for it. We're with you all the way. That is what a team is for." Velvet eyes suddenly itched, so she started rubbing them. She definitely wasn't crying, totally.

"You guys are awesome," Velvet said, giving Coco a hug. Another pair of arms joined them as Fox joined the hug. A few seconds later, Yatsu joined it. It was all really sweet, until Yatsuhashi picked the three of them up and squeezed harder. Coco started screeching and flailing her arms at the big goof and he let them go. The second year team burst out into laughter at their antics. Still smiling, Velvet shot off a quick message to Professor Goodwitch, saying she accepted the terms. Their family of four was going to have another member.

 _Aww, i mixed it up and gave you guys a chapter with a happy ending. Anyways, favorite if you like what you've read, follow if you want to keep up with the story as it continues. Please leave a review for me if you have a question or something you want to point out. I realize I took a few liberties with Cardin's semblance, but I couldn't find that he had an established one, so I made one. Thanks for reading._

 _Peace out_


	7. Chapter 7

Yang hated going the doctor. She especially hated when it was a mind doctor. But, if this was what the punishment for her actions entailed, then so be it. She trudged down the hallway, glancing between her scroll and the numbers by each room. She had received a text ten minutes ago from Ozpin himself to report to some room to meet the school shrink. It didn't matter that she had a ten-page essay due the next day in Oobleck's class, no, she had to go sit on a couch and talk with some old, wrinkly, know-it-all. Eventually she found the correct room, knocked once and entered. But as soon as she saw the psychologist, she froze.

"Good day Miss Xiao Long, please take a seat."

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Yang asked. "Is Ozpin just trying to pull my leg?"

"No, Miss Xiao Long," Professor Goodwitch said. She was sitting in a comfortable armchair next to a white leather sofa. A small table nearby held a clipboard and pen. "It is not."

"I thought you were just a teacher," the blonde brawler commented.

"That is my capacity here, but I am a fully licensed therapist," Goodwitch placated. "There is a separate school counselor at beacon, but _Professor_ Ozpin and I agreed it would be…safer…if a more capable person were to handle these sessions. Is there a problem?"

"No, No," Yang quickly said, flopping backward onto the sofa. "So where do we start? Do I tell you about my childhood? Do I tell you about any nightmares I've had?"

"Why do you fight?" asked the older woman, adjusting her glasses before picking up the clipboard. The question through off Yang, but only for a moment. She had been marathon-ing movies the past couple of days – since the five girls had been handed their punishment – just for this kind of situation.

"Well…I just sort of follow the flow. Ruby wanted to be a huntress, so I took an interest in it, discovered I was pretty good, so I stuck with it. If I can help people and enjoy it, why not?" the blonde girl answered, blowing a loose strand of her mane out of her face.

"So, you don't really care what you're doing when you fight, you just want to fight and have fun. Is that correct?" Goodwitch asked, scribbling some notes down on her clipboard.

"Um…I guess?" answered Yang. The direction this conversation was heading had her worried. She had thought that shrinks were supposed to try to make you feel better, or understand yourself better, or something.

"So you didn't care that you hospitalized Mr. Winchester?" Yang froze. The realization of what Professor Goodwitch was getting at dawned on her.

"What are you doing?" Yang demanded, lurching up to her feet. "Are you trying to paint me into some kind of…of…sicko?" Professor Goodwitch didn't react to her outburst, just kept scribbling away. "ANSWER ME!" Scribble Scribble. Her eyes turned red. Yang screamed and lunged toward the teacher. Before she realized what had happened, she found herself sitting down on the couch, arms held firmly to her side. A slight purple light radiated from her arms and legs, and she could feel – through her aura – that the teacher was using her semblance to hold her down. She screamed her frustration and struggled at the intangible bonds holding her in place. For five minutes, she did nothing but fight against Goodwitch, but to no avail. Eventually, she collapsed, panting, onto the back of the couch. The presence lifted from her limbs.

"Now that we have that out of the way," Professor Goodwitch said, placing her riding crop down on the side table. Yang hadn't even noticed the older woman draw it. "Let's have a mature conversation. I was not trying to paint you as anything. I wanted to get you thinking about your actions. Now tell me, why did you attack Mr. Winchester?"

Yang just sat there, gears grinding away in her head. The ideas that Goodwitch had sparked shook the blonde brawler to her core. What if she was a monster? What if she didn't care about who she fought? Eventually, she met the older woman's gaze and answered, "There was an incident, when Ruby was younger. I was in my third year at signal when Ruby joined. I had gained a reputation there. 'Don't fight this chick, she'll beat you to a pulp.' But when Ruby showed up, all the punks who didn't like me came out and took it out on her. It started small, a bruised wrist, missing some money. We, my Dad and I, thought it was just the normal Hazing. We told Ruby to stand up for herself. Then one day, I saw some kids picking on her. She tried to punch one of them, but he punched back. I saw him knock out her tooth, and my vision turned red. It was when I unlocked my semblance. I pummeled them – there were four, I just remembered – until they didn't get up again. Later, when the headmaster was speaking to me about the incident, I learned it was just her baby tooth that was knocked out. It had been loose for a week. They sat me down with the councilor for a week. They walked me through anger management exercises. I didn't care, so I just faked my way through them. I had protected Ruby, that was all that mattered."

Professor Goodwitch just sat still for a moment, absorbing the information. She had read about the incident – and all the other, numerous fights Yang had been in – but now that it was put in context, it made much more sense. "So, as long as you were protecting someone, it was alright?"

The blonde brawler sighed, and hung her head. "No, it's not. What I did, it wasn't to protect anyone. It was me wanting to punish him."

"Now that you've admitted that, I think I know what to do," Professor Goodwitch said. Yang sat forward, staring at the teacher. One eyebrow was raised, as if asking her to explain. "You are so concerned with what you fight for, but you haven't considered who you fight." Yang nodded her head slowly. "So here is what you're going to have to do, Miss Xiao Long. Whenever you fight, stop and think about who or what you are fighting, and why they fight. As a huntress, it will usually be Grimm, so the answer is easy. The Grimm are evil; they seek only to return us to the dust. But people are much more complex. If you can promise to do this, and live by it, then you are free to go." Yang just sat still, staring at the teacher. Said teacher raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"That's it?" asked Yang. The teacher nodded. "Oh, I thought we'd be here like a week or something."

"Well…" began the teacher, letting out a long breath. "I do have five of you to go through this week. I'll spend as much time with each of you as it takes, but I also have a class to teach."

"Ok," said the student, raising her hands. "Trust me, I'm glad to be done with this. And yeah…I can do that. The whole, think before you hit thing. I promise."

"Good, now go," Goodwitch said, making a shooing motion with her hands. Yang obliged, leaving the classroom.

...

Velvet entered the hospital wing clutching a bundle of fresh yellow roses. The shop owner down in Vale had told her that they symbolized friendship, so she though it appropriate to get them in a simple glass vase as a sort of commemoration of him joining her team. She waved politely to the nurse as she breezed by the reception desk. She had been down so often that she was on a first-name basis with almost the entire nursing core. She walked straight by the desk, heading towards Cardin's room. But even as she approached, her Faunus enhanced hearing picked up parts of a conversation.

"The school already faces enough flak from the high injury rate and the occasional Grimm-related death. I would rather not have to explain to the council why one of our students, the adopted son of one of the richest and elite citizens of Vale, died from an unsanctioned attack against the White fang," one male voice said. It was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She padded closer to the room on silent feet, intent on hearing the rest of the conversation.

"I'm sorry Ozpin," another male voice said. _Ozpin!_ Velvet realized. That was who the first voice belonged to. "But at this point, there is nothing I can do. He's holding onto his semblance – even through a medically induced coma, which is no easy feat – and sucking all pain to him. We had to move all patients within a ten-meter radius away so it wouldn't get worse. Unless he releases the pain, and Oum have mercy on whoever that poor fellow is, then he is beyond our help."

"How is his aura holding up Luteous?" Ozpin asked. By this point, Velvet was standing outside of the room. She peered in. Ozpin and Doctor Luteous were standing on opposite sides of the bed, staring down at their patient. Cardin was not looking good. His skin was an ashen gray color, and from the vitals displayed on the computer next to him, Velvet saw his pulse was barely there. He looked emaciated, his once bulging muscles were practically gone. Velvet gasped, clutching her hands to her face. One second too late, she realized her mistake. The vase shattered on the floor, and the noise caused both men to wipe their gazes to the door. When they saw who it was, Ozpin couldn't help but sigh.

"I assume you heard enough of what is going on, you may as well come in," the spectacled teacher said. Velvet nodded before picking her way through the shards of broken glass. "I'm sure the janitorial staff with clean that up. Now, Doctor Luteous, as you were saying."

"Well…" began the doctor, letting out another sigh. "His aura is next to nothing. Between his semblance and his injuries – which on a brighter note are doing much better – he can't regain any new aura. At the rate he is burning through it, he'll pass into a vegetative state within a week, best case scenario."

"And the worse?" asked Velvet. She had taken a seat on the edge of Cardin bad, her small hands clenching one of his bigger hands.

"Worst case scenario, he will pass away in a matter of days," Doctor Luteous said. "It's not very probable, but if something were to happen to his aura, like he would be hurt again, or if he took on any new pain, it would kill him." The news shook Velvet.

"Miss Scarlatina," Ozpin said, placing a hand on the young girl's shoulder. She looked up into the older man's eyes. "You may not want to be here."

"No," she sobbed, the word barely making it out. "I need to be here. He's like this be-because of me. I-I did this to h-him."

"I thought that might be the case," the teacher said, a kindly smile touching his lips. "Then I have a mission for you." Velvet nodded jerkily, still trying – but failing – to hold in tears. "I have heard rumor of a strange person wandering around the poorer side of Vale, healing people of their pain and diseases almost magically. Take your team and find this person. See if they'll save Cardin."

Velvet shot to her feet, nodding eagerly. "Yes s-sir. We'll do it sir." The Faunus girl hurried out of the room in search of her team. Ozpin's smile deepened at seeing the determination in the student. It was something that he couldn't teach them, but the best students found it anyway.

After he exchanged a few more words with the doctor. He left the hospital and messaged his assistant on his scroll.

 _Ozpin: Would you please excuse team CFVY from classes indefinitely._

 _Glynda: You do realize they are several weeks behind already, right?_

 _Ozpin: Put it in as a training mission. That way it will be easier since they won't have to make up combat or Grimm studies._

 _Glynda: Fine_

 _Glynda: What are they doing?_

 _Glynda: ?_

 _Glynda: OZPIN!_

 _Hey reader. Thanks for reading my story. If you're new to the story, welcome. Favorite if you liked it, follow if you want to keep up with it. Also, and this goes those of you still reading (the real MVP's) feel free to leave a review. I really want to hear your opinion. If I use your idea, I'll give you a shout-out. Speaking of which, Shout-out to Dante's Disciple real quick. He's had some great ideas and I've neglected to give him credit until now. Anyways, keep reading guys. Peace out_


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey reader, I wanted to put my authors note at the beginning so I could say this. I'm really, really sorry it has been so long since I updated this story. I started writing when I was on summer holiday, so I had plenty of time to write and read work, but lately I've been struggling in school (whoever said senior year was easy was lying). Anyways, here is a new chapter for this story. For the thirty or so of you who read my other stories, Derpitay and I are about halfway through the next chapter of "Do you believe in Destiny" and now that I've finished this chapter I'll start working on the next Grimm-born. Reviews are always welcome and so far I've replied to every one. Favorite the story if you like what you've read. Follow if you want to read more. Enjoy!_

To say that Glynda Goodwitch, assistant headmaster of Beacon Academy, was astonished would be an understatement. She had tried so hard over the school year to get this result, but no number of lectures, scolding, or detentions had been able to do it, but now – before her very eyes – was Nora Valkyrie, sitting still, being quiet. Next to her sat her partner, equally silent.

"Thank you for coming in today Miss Valkyrie, but if I may ask you a question, Mr. Lie, why are you here?" the teacher asked.

"Nora asked me to accompany her," he said, meeting her gaze levelly.

"I see," she said, writing some notes down on her clipboard. "Miss Valkyrie, can I ask you to step out into the hall for a moment, I would like to speak with Mr. Lie for a moment." Nora stood up and walked out the door, not saying a word. When she was gone, Miss Goodwitch turned to the boy in front of her. "Now Mr. Lie, your partner is starting to concern me. She is behaving most unlike herself. Would you mind explaining to me why you think she would be behaving like this, since you are her closest friend?"

The boy nodded solemnly before answering, "As I am sure you know from our records, Nora and I are orphans." Goodwitch nodded. She had read their official records. She started jotting down notes on her clipboard. "We were at the same orphanage, but at first, we didn't quite get along. She was always talking, and I wouldn't talk. She absolutely loved food, I wouldn't eat. That sort of thing. It wasn't that we didn't like each other or anything, we were just so different, we couldn't understand each other."

"We went at for months, her trying to talk to me, get me involved, and I just wasn't there. But one day, I noticed she wasn't at lunch with the rest of us children. I was worried, but didn't do anything. A few hours later, when it was our recess, she still wasn't there. I went looking for her, and found her locked in a supply closet in the dark." Goodwitch stopped her scribbling, her pen falling from her hand.

"Why wasn't this incident on your records?" professor Goodwitch asked.

"There was never any proof of who did it, and Nora never got a good look at the person. She was just shoved in and the door was shut." Ren said, his monotonous voice gaining a hard edge. "But from the worst things, can come some of the best things. The…incident, it brought me out of my shell. I started talking to her, doing stuff. She saved me that day." The two of them sat in silence for a minute, the teacher digesting the horrible story.

Eventually, the teacher spoke up, her tone surprisingly light. "Mr. Ren," Goodwitch said, flipping to a new paper on her clipboard. She hurriedly started scribbling down instructions. "You gave me an idea for Miss Valkyrie. Take this to the student kitchens, then do as it says." She punctuated the sentence by ripping off the paper. She handed it to Ren, who started to read the document. Slowly, a small smile spread across his face. He quickly stood up and left the room.

A few moments later, Professor Goodwitch exited the room. There, just outside her door, she found Nora Valkyrie sitting on the floor, knees tucked up to her chest.

"I'm sure there is a more comfortable place for us to sit," the teacher said, offering a hand to the girl. Nora took it, and got up to her feet.

"I-I'm sorry Ms…Ms. Goodwitch," Nora said, tears brimming at the corner of her eyes. Glynda shushed the girl before offering her a folded handkerchief.

"No need for tears Ms. Valkyrie," Goodwitch said. "Come with me, I think a walk is in order." The two of them set out at a leisurely pace, Nora utterly confused.

"You…You're not mad?" the hammer-wielder asked.

"Well…that depends," the teacher said. "You know what you did?" Nora nodded, hanging her head. "You know that it was wrong?" Again, the student nodded. "Then there is no reason to be mad."

"R-Really?" Nora asked, confused/

"Yes Ms. Valkyrie," Goodwitch said, offering the girl a kind smile. "Beacon is a school; an institution devoted to learning. We want you to learn from every experience, both the positive and the negative ones. I believe you know what you did, and you know what to change." The orange haired girl's attitude had risen during the short speech until a genuine smile broke across the girls' face. "Now, I do need to give you something to do as a result of your actions. I want you to spend the next week with your family; talk through your actions, and decide on what to do to do better in future situations."

"Uh…Ms. Goodwitch," Nora said, the smile slipping from her face. "I don't know what you talked about with Ren, but we don't have a family."

"Oh, but don't you," the teacher asked, attempting – and failing – to suppress a smile. Nora hadn't paid attention to where they were walking, and was surprised when Goodwitch opened the door to the cafeteria. Inside, sitting around a table, was her team. "Why do you think we assign team, Ms. Valkyrie? It isn't just to make rooming people easier. It's to give you a home and people for you to trust and rely on. A family is not established by blood, but by love." Nora's lip started quivering, before surprising her teacher with a hug. Even more surprising was when the teacher accepted it. "Now go on, your team is waiting for you."

Nora nodded before running off to join her team. There, she was greeted with the most glorious surprise she had ever received in her life (or at least that day); an enormous, syrupy stack of pancakes. Nora dove head first into battle, armed with her most dangerous tools (a fork and knife) but was stopped short of consuming the piece of heaven before her.

"Team JNPR!" the stern voice of Professor Goodwitch said. Slowly, the four teens turned to face the teacher. "If you cause another food fight, you will be responsible for replacing and/or repairing any damages to beacon property, am I understood?" A chorus of 'Yes ma'am's' echoed around the table before they resumed their feast. If they had listened carefully, they would have heard the rare and mythical Goodwitch chuckle.

...

Velvet was not a huge fan of the rain, surprise surprise. She would have like nothing better than to have curled up in the Beacon Library and enjoy a good book. But dust it she had a mission and she was going to complete it. "Any sign of the target," she whispered into her throat mic.

"Negative," responded Yatsuhashi.

"Nope," said Fox. "Still no sign of him." Velvet idly noted a young man pushing a woman in a wheel chair down the street, while a young girl clung walked along side, carrying a bag of medicine. The whole scene sent of small surge of emotion through Velvet and she shot a picture of them.

"Come on Fox, you can't give up now," crackled the voice of Coco through the headset.

"Easy for you to say," grumbled Fox. "You're grounded back at beacon until you talk with the councilor dude."

"Actually, I heard a rumor it was actually Goodwitch," Coco said. "And that she was actually being nice to students."

"Goodwitch, and nice, in the same sentence?" said Fox skeptically.

"Guys, focus," Velvet interrupted. "I think I see something." A man in a long brown trench coat was walking down the street, his gate unsteady, but not in a drunk way. More like he was limping on a bad leg. He had a slouch cap pulled low over his face making it impossible for Velvet to see his face.

"On our way," Yatsuhashi grunted.

"ETA, ten minutes," Fox added.

"Negative," replied Velvet, her tone all business. "Wait for confirmation first." The other two acknowledged. The man with the trench coat reached an alley and abruptly turned into it, out of Velvet's sight. A minute passed bye and nothing happened. Velvet was beginning to believe that it was a false alarm until a wave surge of aura exploded from the alley. It wasn't disruptive per say, and some who's aura was still locked wouldn't have noticed a thing, but Velvet could feel the size of the Aura behind whatever it was that happened.

"On me," whispered Velvet into her mic before shutting of her radio. She couldn't afford to be distracted now. Velvet sprinted over to the side of her building before jumping down into an alley, using her aura to cushion the impact on her legs. By the time Velvet made it onto the street she saw a strange sight. The woman from before _walked_ out of the alley, her two companions by her side. Velvet glanced into the alley and was just barely able to make out the shape of the wheelchair, now abandoned, glinting from the light shining from the street. Velvet's mouth gaped at the sight.

"I see you admire my handiwork," a gruff voice muttered behind Velvet. Velvet whirled around and saw the man in the trench coat standing behind her. She could see his face now. He had a strong face, devoid of any fat with prominent bone structure. Grey stubble adorned his cheeks while piercing blue eyes stared into hers.

Velvet audibly gulped before answering, "You're the healer I take it."

The man laughed, a booming, deep sound despite it being quiet. "What gave me away, the healing?"

Velvet immediately scowled. She didn't have time for his sarcasm, "I need your help, sir. My friend, he's dying and-"

"Save it kid," the man sighed. "I can't help you now." Velvet stared at the man, not understanding. _I just saw what you did._ "What you saw, that was the last of what I can do. I'm burnt out."

"But he needs you," she pleaded, grabbing the front of his jacket. Tears were beginning to bead at the corner of her eyes, but Velvet ignored them. "He saved me, and now he's going to die for it."

"An admirable death. You Faunus stick together til the end don't you."

"He's not Faunus," she screamed. Tears were flowing freely down her face now, but Velvet didn't care. "He's human. He hated us for a while, he hurt me, but he changed. Cardin saved me, and now I'm watching him die because I can't do anything!" Her voice had risen to a shout. She hammered her fists weakly on his chest, but the man remained impassive. Slowly, the girl crumpled to her knees. _I failed him. He's going to die because of me._ Suddenly a white object appeared in front of Velvet. As she wiped her eyes clear, she saw it was an old-fashioned handkerchief.

"Pretty girls shouldn't be crying," the healer said to her, crouching down in front of her. She graciously took it and wiped her face clean. "Much better. Now, I need you to answer something for me, can you do that?" She nodded, not trusting her voice to answer. "Why do you care what happens to him?"

Velvet sat there a moment the question echoing in her mind. _Why did she care so much? He abused me, tortured me, bullied almost everyone weaker than him. Why does it matter?_ After a while, she looked up into the eyes of the stranger and answered,

"Some people believe people are inherently good or bad. That a person will be bad because that is their nature, and that nothing can change them. Then, there are those who believe everything is destiny or fate. You will do bad things because that is what you were meant to do. I reject both of the ideas. I don't think people are anything however. I believe that everyone has the capability to do good, or bad. Something happens to people that gives them this ability, but it isn't set in stone. Cardin was a bully, and a meanie, and downright rude, but not without a reason. He saw the absolute worst of people, and it broke him. It took a while for him to pull himself together, but when he did, he wasn't innocent anymore. He was hurt, and pain draws pain. He became what he was because of what people did to him. But that doesn't mean he has to be. I know that not only can he change his ways, but he could become the best of us."

As Velvet finished her impromptu speech, silence reigned in the alley. Her head hung low going through her own revelation. _She felt all of that? Was that all of it?_

Eventually, the man spoke to her, bringing her attention back to the real world, "You are a good person little lady. The world needs more people like you. Not innocent, but pure." Two firm hands grabbed Velvets and gently lifted her up to her feet. Velvet looked up and saw Yatsuhashi behind her, holding her up.

The two men held a mini staring contest, and a conversation entirely in glances and expressions, before both of them nodded. "Very well," the healer said. "Take me to…Cardin. You'll see a miracle yet this night."

 _Sorry, another authors note, but I wanted to put this after Velvet's speech for reasons. Throughout this story, I've been asked **WHY?** Velvet's speech is my answer. I don't think that people are bad. Different topic: I've been asked a lot in reviews of this is going to be a full CardinxVelvet romantic ship (on a side note, if you know the name for this ship, could you let me know? I couldn't remember it and it's really bugging me). The honest answer is I don't know, so I'm leaving it up to you. If you leave a review, please say if you think this ship should sail or sink and why. If no one has a good reason (or just no one replies) then a poll will go up. Anyways, thanks for reading. Peace out._


	9. Chapter 9

Glynda Goodwitch was sitting behind her desk, trying to relax after one of the craziest days of her careers. It had started off normally enough; Jaune Arc performed miserably in the singles combat practice, but was exceptional at the team practice. Then, during Goodwitch's planning period, she had had sit downs with the two female members of JNPR. Nora hadn't been too bad, but Pyrrha's session had been draining. The champion had been, frankly, a complete mess. From the moment, she had walked into the teachers' office, the girl had cried her eyes out. The up-and-coming champion had been seriously disturbed by her role in Cardin's torture – albeit small – and her talk and correction had been very similar to her teammates.

As if those weren't stressful enough, Glynda got to then supervise the delinquent children's community service, missing her lunch in the process. After all that, Glynda felt she had a dire appointment with a nice glass of wine and a romance novel – perhaps Samurais of Passion – in front of a fire at her home.

Alas, her plans were foiled by the most horrible thing for teachers; students.

"Miss Goodwitch," a meek female voice called from her doorway.

Silently cursing her luck, the teacher responded. "Yes, what is it." Looking up, she saw the petite form of Weiss Schnee standing in the doorway.

"Well," the heiress practically whispered. "I was wondering if I could…uh…speak with you about something…in confidence."

Sighing, the teacher calmed herself before replying, "Close the door and have a seat Miss Schnee." Once the student had done so, the teacher spoke up again. "Now, what brings you here at this hour."

The huntress-in training answered quickly, obviously giving a scripted reply, "I have been struggling with a certain concern lately, and considering how Yang acted after your session with her, I decided that you were the best and most qualified person to speak to."

Frowning, Goodwitch replied, "You may leave now Miss Schnee."

Spluttering, Weiss demanded, "Wh-Why?"

"If you are going to sit there and give me pre-decided questions that you already expect a certain reply to, then you have come to the wrong place," the huntress said coldly, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I am here to help students with whatever they are struggling with; be it stress, depression, fear, or some other form of mental anguish. It is very emotional, and it is very hard. It requires complete honesty and discretion on both sides. If you refuse to be open with me, then there is nothing I can do to for you today. Do you understand, Miss Schnee?"

The young heiress didn't answer audibly, merely hanging her head and nodding to the teacher. The teacher, now in a much warmer tone of voice, continued, "Now, would you like to try that again?"

Looking up, tears beading the corners of her eyes, Weiss spoke quietly, "I'm…I'm scared."

Warmth blossomed in the teachers' chest at the tender sight before her. "Of what dear? Does this have anything to do with your team's recent escapades, both with the white Fang or with Cardin?"

"With Cardin," the girl answered.

"I assure you," the teacher said, leaning forward in her chair to stare directly into the heiress' eyes. "Cardin will not hurt you or anyone else here again. We've made sure of that."

"It's not him I'm scared of," the young girl said, burying her face in her hands. "It's my team, my friends." Shocked silence filled office. Glynda did not dare break it, instead letting the student explain herself. "I-I feinted when the first blow was struck, but I know what happened; what they did. They brutalized Cardin because of what he did to just one Faunus. My family has a…reputation when it comes to Faunus. We've treated them horribly over the years; through poor wages, unsafe working conditions, or outright abuse to prevent strikes."

Goodwitch knew that some people would kill for the confession the young Schnee just gave, but she had a far more important job. "Now listen here Miss Schnee." The young girl looked up at her mentor. "These terrible things you say your company has done, are you directly responsible any of them? Did you personally do anything to abuse the Faunus?"

"Well, n-no, but my-"

"Ah ah ah," interrupted Goodwitch, preventing the heiress from finishing her reply. "That's all there is to it. You did not do anything, and you are not at fault. Even if you were, that is not what your friends care about. There care about _you_ , Miss Schnee. They care about what's in there…" The teacher pointed at Weiss' head. "And what's in there." The teacher pointed at Weiss' heart.

"Even discounting all that, you missed _why_ your friends fight." The heiress cocked her head to the side, confused by her teachers last sentence. "They weren't fighting just to hurt Cardin; they fought to protect and to get revenge for Miss Scarlatina. Correct me if I'm wrong, but during your teams training mission which lead to the breach, you were disarmed and disabled by a White Fang lieutenant, correct?"

The heiress nodded. The defeat still weighed heavily upon her. It had been partially her fault Torchwick wasn't apprehended and the train stopped. "And once again correct me if I'm wrong, but did not Miss Belladonna herself fight and defeat that same lieutenant to protect you?"

"Only because the lieutenant dragged me to the carriage that Blake was in," Weiss protested.

"Beside the point," dismissed the teacher. "She, a Faunus who more than understood the actions of your family, fought to protect you from one of her former associates." It was true, the heiress realized. Blake hadn't hesitated in risking her life to save her. But then Weiss realized something even bigger.

"Wait, you knew about Blake's…origins?" she exclaimed, looking at her teacher in amazement.

"Of course," the teacher said, leaning back in her chair. "I handle all the admissions. You don't think I wouldn't let a former terrorist in without knowing about it?"

"Well," Weiss said. "I just assumed the Blake had done a better job of hiding that particular piece of information."

"I know everything that goes on here at Beacon, Miss Schnee," the teacher said, gazing levelly at the heiress. "I am the all-powerful Goodwitch, and don't you forget it." Weiss giggled a little at the comment, smiling at the teacher.

"Thank you," the Schnee said, rising from her seat and offering her hand. "This has helped a lot."

"That is why I'm here," the teacher said, also standing. The teacher took her students hands and the two women shook before Weiss left the office. As soon as the heiress had closed the door, Goodwitch frantically began grabbing her belongings. _After all,_ the teacher thought to herself, _I have a very important date._

…

The journey back to beacon had not been without its' own adventures. First, they had to collect the healer's "belongings". The strange man had been living in a shed out in the "ghetto". It was a sort of shanty town outside the borders of Vale proper; meaning no cops. The three trainees (Fox had arrived shortly after Yatsuhashi) flanked the healer with their weapons ready, but no mishaps befell them there. Apparently, the healer, he had later explained to them, had built a reputation in these parts. He, and his shack, were neutral in all conflicts. No gang, thug, or terrorist sought trouble with him. Even the White Fang left him alone, so long as he did not actively go after them.

The shack itself was nothing special. A couple of plywood sections nailed together under an aluminum roof. The dirt floor had been mashed down from years of being laid/walked upon. A small dust-powered grill in the corner served both to cook food as well as warm the place. Besides that, there was a small, ratty mattress and a thin, well-used blanket. However, when they arrived, the healer dug into the hard-packed dirt and pulled out a small box.

Leaving the slums had not been as easy. Halfway back, they stumbled into a small battle between a small group of thugs. Being the up-standing citizens they were, the students had wanted to get involved and stop the fight before anyone got hurt. The healer stopped them however. Such was the nature of the places outside the city. Order was what you made with your fists. Peace was only when everyone who wanted to pick a fight with you lost.

Eventually, the students made their way back to the shuttle depot, and with some convincing, had gotten a ride back to the school. This was where they were now, sitting in an awkward silence. Velvet had sat on one side of the airbus, flanked by her two friends and teammates. The healer had taken a seat opposite her.

"What's he like," the healer said, shattering the still air. "This boy I'm supposed to save for you." The two boys gave each other uncomfortable looks, but it was Velvet who spoke first.

"Honestly," the Faunus girl said. "We don't know much about him personally. I know a bit about his past, but it isn't pretty. He's seen some horrible things, and he had to fight through them, alone."

"He's a skilled warrior," Yatsuhashi added. "I saw a bit of him during his initiation. He and his team didn't face a nevermore or deathstalker, but they did have to deal with a reasonable size horde of Beowulves."

"Yeah," Fox continued. "In fact, if it weren't for JNPR and RWBY, they would have been the team to beat in their year. In fact, those two teams are the only two they haven't beaten in combat class."

"So they only fly under the radar because there are two exceptional teams? Teams that, from what you've said, can take on tasks that would give some licensed teams a challenge?" The healer asked. The other students nodded. CFVY had done little more than what CRDL had done during initiation, and they were the best team in the second year.

"Why are you so curious?" asked Yatsuhashi. "Does this play a part in your healing?"

"Yes and no" the healer said. "I prefer to know about the person I am trying to heal. I find it helps with the process. I don't necessarily need it, but my conscience demands it."

"You don't want to help someone who'll squander their second chance," Velvet said, and the man nodded. A slight jolt shook the cabin, and the four occupants looked out to see that they had landed at beacon.

"Very well, let's perform a miracle."

…

"Would you prefer to be called insane or delusional?" Doctor Luteous asked. He had just been introduced to 'The Healer' and had deemed him unfit to visit the patient.

"Would you prefer to step aside and let me save the boy's life, or be moved so I can save the boy's life?" the healer countered. Team CFVY – Coco had met them when the ship had landed – were flanking the healer as he tried to negotiate with the doctor.

"There is nothing that can be done at this point!" the frantic doctor said, pleading for the man to hear him. "He's maxed out on aura boosts and painkillers. Any more will kill him. There is no technology, no dust that can do anything for him now."

"That may not in fact be the case, good doctor," a quiet voice said from the entrance to the hospital. The entire group turned around to find the headmaster standing there with his customary mug.

"You can't be serious headmaster!" Exclaimed Luteous. "Where's Professor Goodwitch? Maybe Glynda can talk some sense into you lot!"

"First," responded Ozpin, in a voice so cold it could have frozen magma. "Miss Goodwitch has had a long day, and has left school grounds. Call her back if you want to face her wrath. Second, don't you, for one second, forget who's school this is. I am the authority here. If you wish to challenge me and take this to the council, then go ahead, we'll see who wins. Third, that boy is going to die on your watch if you do not let this man through. Is that something you can live with? Knowing that you purposefully stopped someone with the capabilities to save a life from doing so?" Ozpin's voice never gained volume, but his quiet scolding was more than enough to convince the doctor to abandon his efforts.

"Fine," the doctor said, stepping aside. "But if this goes badly, then I will not hesitate to report you to the Council, Ozpin."

"I'll take my chances," Ozpin said, sipping from his mug.

…

Cardin looked like death. His skin had turned a dull grey color, and shone slick with sweat. His pulse was barely there; coming in at just under 25 bpm. To the healer, it looked awful, but he had seen it before. It was only once, a lifetime ago, and yet just twelve years ago.

"You've done a number on yourself boy," he said, gazing down at the child. His heart felt heavy looking down at him. The boy had lived a horrible life, the healer knew it, but he also knew one other thing.

Someone was going to die that night.

…

CFVY sat anxiously in the waiting room of the medical wing. Teams RWBY and JNPR had appeared to check in, but Ozpin had sent them away. The second-year team shouldn't have been there anyway, but Ozpin didn't have the heart to tell them to leave. The two first year teams on the other hand, he knew they had a test the nest day with none other than Professor Goodwitch, and if she found out that he had let them stay up into the wee hours of the morning for this, the entire Atlesian army would not be able to protect him from her.

A few minutes after the healer went in. A massive surge of aura could be felt. It lasted for almost a minute, but eventually tapered off. Finally, the healer reappeared, but before the four students could ask any questions, he held up his hands for them to wait.

"You," he said, pointing to Velvet. "Can go in. No more than five minutes, he needs his rest. You…" he pointed to the doctor. "Can go and give him a quick once over. The rest of you lot…" He gestured to the remainder of CFVY. "Go to bed. If he's awake, you can see him tomorrow." The aforementioned people nodded before they left, obeying their various instructions. That left Ozpin and the healer alone.

"Can I get that drink you offered all that time ago, old friend?" The healer asked. A hint of pain showed on his face.

"Of course," the headmaster nodded, moving to support the other man. "Let's take this back to my office."

…

Velvet looked on in disbelief. For as awful as Cardin had looked just earlier that day, he had suddenly recovered. His color had returned. His vitals were up. His aura, although not entirely filled, was progressively rising. Even his muscles, which had atrophied slightly from his extended stay – or rather stays – in the hospital, had recovered. He looked like he had all those weeks ago, when the boy had confronted her in the empty classroom. All in all, Cardin would live.

…

"You've done good, my friend," Cardin said to the healer. "Both tonight and these many years. I know it was hard for you, when Velvet died, but you didn't let that stop you." Silence. Ozpin took a sip from his coffee mug, although something stronger was currently in it. "I kept tabs on you, you know. You bounced around a lot. You healed for a while, then turned around and brought justice to the wicked." More silence. Another sip. "You were always one of the best of us. She would be proud of what you've done. And I know you'd both be proud of what your son has done." Ozpin crouched down and placed his hand on top of the tombstone. "Goodbye, old friend."

 **Here Lies:**

 **Cardin Whey Sr.**

 **Father, Husband, Son**

 **Judge, Protector, Hunter, Healer**

 **"By my shoulder, I protect thee. By my mind, I remember thee. By my life, I save thee"**

 _Hey reader. Thanks for reading. Shout-out to WritingwithGusto. Best Beta/review I've ever had. And whoa, plot twist at the end. A bit of Ozpin's back story revealed too as an added , this chapter sort of ends the first arc (not a reference, I swear) of my story. There will be more, don't worry. Please leave a review at the end. They really help with writing the story. Favorite if you like the story so far. Follow if you want to see more. Peace out_

 _P.S. Volume 4 is out. The hype has been lived up to. Go watch it now_


	10. Chapter 10

Physical Therapy sucks. That was the decision Cardin had come to. He had been awake barely two days and he was already sick of walking back and forth with the stupid handlebars. Granted, they were the only way he could walk, but that doesn't mean he had to like them.

"Come on Cardin," a cheery voice said behind him. "Don't give up!" Had he not been so focused on standing upright, he would have shot Velvet a dirty look. The day after he had woken up, Ozpin had explained the situation to him.

 _Flashback_

 _"…Do you understand, Mr. Winchester?" Ozpin's soft voice asked. The wizened teacher had filled in the events that had transpired since the attack on the White Fang hideout; saving his team, them leaving the school, the disciplinary actions both he and the rest had to face. He had honestly been surprised when Ozpin told him that he wasn't going to jail. But then again, perhaps having to be around Velvet, and the memories of events he was ashamed of, was worse._

 _Cardin nodded. It was about the only movement he could do, with his hands and feet handcuffed to the rails of the hospital bed. Evidently, someone along the line thought that Cardin might be dangerous, and so he had been cuffed._ Should've been locked up this whole time anyway _he thought to himself._

 _"At the beginning of the next semester," Professor Goodwitch began. "You will begin attending classes with team CFVY. You will be expected to be able to keep up with their classes, so for the remainder of this semester, you will be excused from classes for independent study. You will take what would have been your end of year exams at the semester break. Do you understand?" Another nod from Cardin. "Is there a problem with your voice, or are you being insubordinate?" Cardin looked up, opening his mouth, but no words came out. What was there to say, after all that had transpired._

 _"The other reason for your 'time off'," Ozpin interrupted, saving the boy from embarrassment. "Is so that you may recover, both physically and mentally. You did bad things, horrible things. But then you turned around and sacrificed yourself in what could be considered by some as an act of pure, selfless heroism. As a teacher, I wish I could instruct you on how to process all of this, but the simple answer is that there is no method for it. You are going to have to rectify and recover on your own initiative."_

 _Cardin's head sunk. Ozpin had just basically told him he was on his own._

 _"Ah, stop that," Goodwitch snapped, shaking Cardin from his thoughts. "He said on your own initiative, not on your own." And Cardin was confused, as was the norm when the teachers spoke to him. "Surprisingly enough, there are still people who care about you here, and more who want to see you back on your feet. You must find the will to move forward, but there are plenty of people here to help you along the way."_

 _Cardin nodded slowly. That made more sense._ Couldn't they have just led with that and make things simpler? _The two teachers began to head out, but Ozpin paused at the door._

 _"When you're well again, I'd like to speak to you about someone we both once knew." With that cryptic message, the teacher left Cardin; alone, but for his thoughts._

 _End Flashback_

Cardin sunk into a chair at the end of the bars, exhaling loudly. He absently started rubbing his sore thighs

"I think you've got another one in you," Velvet said, walking over to Cardin.

"I…think…you're…crazy," Cardin whispered hoarsely. The gladiator had been pushing his frail body to the limit trying to get back in shape.

"Maybe~" Velvet practically sang. "How about this. You make it all the way down, on your own, and we'll go get lunch." Cardin just muttered under his breath – something about someone being a slave driver – but stood up regardless. Slowly, one glacial step at a time, Cardin began walking. He had his hands hovering over the rails, just in case he lost his balance. Eventually, he made it to the end. Velvet started over to help him to the wheelchair, but he held up a hand to stop her. Step by step, Cardin walked across the room until he reached the wheelchair. Slowly, this time with Velvet's help, he lowered himself down.

"Looks like someone's doing better," a feminine voice called from the door. The two turned their heads to see Coco standing in the entrance.

"Yeah," Velvet said, turning Cardin's wheelchair to the door. "I was thinking that he could join us for PT next week." A slightly terrified look bloomed on Cardin's face before the two girls started laughing. Cardin let out a relieved sigh, extending the girls' mirth.

"Anyways," Coco gasped, marshaling her giggling. "Yatsu's on his way to push Cardin around. And before you even say it Velvet, you've got that project for Oobleck to do, so we'll take over babysitting duty."

"You guys have to do it too," Velvet tried to protest, but Coco was having none of it.

"We're already done Vel," The leader said, walking over to her teammate. "How about you go ahead and run down to the cafeteria. Save us the usual spot, plus one." Velvet nodded, resigned to her fate. Once the rabbit Faunus had left, Coco turned to the remaining boy, who was doing his best to stealthily wheel away from her towards a different door.

"Slow your roll hot shot," the fashionista sighed. "We need to talk real quick." Cardin froze. Slowly, the former leader turned around, and shocked Coco. The boy appeared to be in a mild state of panic. "Let me start of by saying…I'm sorry Cardin. I'm so sorry for what I did to you." Coco dragged a chair next to the boy, and shock bloomed across his face as the older student took off her sunglasses.

"I don't know what your old team was like," Coco started. "But mine, ours now, we're a family. We fight for each other. We'd each die for one another. But Velvet, she'd live for each of us. She's our heart; our hope. And when I saw her, broken, I just…snapped." Tears began to bead at the corner of her eyes. She quickly put her glasses on and turned away. "Well. You don't have to worry about us. We're all good people, unlike your previous team."

Suddenly, Coco found arms wrapped around her. She tried to struggle out of it, but the arms wouldn't relent. They were gentle, but immovable. Slowly, a good, warm feeling spread through her. All her stress, her regret over her actions, her fear of being hated all melted away.

"First, you're okay Coco," a quiet, masculine voice said. It took Coco a second to realize it was Cardin's. It sound different when it wasn't filled with malice or scorn towards her teammate. "You had every right to do what you did and more. Don't hold that over yourself. Second, you're wrong."

"What?"

"Do you know where CRDL was during the breach?" Coco shook her head. She didn't. All she knew was that both her team and her had criticized them over not showing up to fight off the Grimm. "We left on our mission the day before the breach. We got stationed up and a frontier town on the northern border, right on the edge of Vale land. The first day wasn't bad. We met the team we were assigned to; they had graduated two years earlier, right before you would've arrived. The next day, was mostly good, Grimm activity picked up a little, but nothing major."

Cardin took in a deep, shaky breath. Coco felt something wet land on her shoulder, and realized the big guy was crying. "Then, at twilight, all the negativity off the breach hit us. Grimm came by the hundreds, maybe thousands. The town was surrounded on two sides by a river, so only the north and east were approachable. We took the east and fought for hours; longer than even we thought we could. But we couldn't hold. First, Dove got hurt. Always thought his Grimm fighting could use some work. Anyways, he caught a Beowulf bight on the shoulder. Then Sky got run over by a boarbatusk. I knew we wouldn't hold. I ordered Russel to grab them and drag them back to the town hall – where we had the civilians sheltering – and lock themselves in. I said I'd buy them time, so, using my last fire crystal, I blew down the gates on top of the Grimm."

"Nice," Coco said appreciatively. "Using the explosion as cover to withdraw. You were actually a competent leader." A rye chuckle escaped Cardin's lips as he released Coco and sat back in his seat. Confusion, as well as worry, creased the huntress' face.

"I had no intention of falling back. I just blew the gates open, leaving a massive whole for Grimm to pour in. They'd've surrounded the civvies and the pros. No, I charged them. They were drawn to negativity, and I had plenty of it. We'd been fighting for hours, I had at least a few cracked ribs for taking an Ursa paw, and I really needed to take a dump." This elicited a small snort from Coco, but she let him continue. "I fought for as long as I could, and then some. No aura, surrounded, I gave up. I would've let them have me. But, my team, who you were just harping on, saved me. Apparently, I drew off most of the Grimm, so the Pros had finished up. Russel got them and led them to me. Sky and Dove, injured, got the Villagers to build a make-shift barricade across the gateway. They saved me Coco." The boy gave his new leader a stern look. "They're good people. I was the one to pressure them into bullying and being anti-Faunus. I let my past corrupt them into being bad to Velvet. So don't ever, ever, think any less of them."

Coco was shocked by the little impromptu story. Eventually, she roused herself and asked, "Why the hell wasn't that front page news? That should've been on the cover of every newspaper from her to mantle!"

"Did you forget when this little story was taking place!" Cardin asked. "It was the night after the breach. You guys all took the front page. Not only was there a direct attack on the main city of Vale, but the noble students of beacon showed up to save the day." His voice took on an ironic edge. "I think we got a mention on about page eight."

"Oh," Coco said. "Well, on behalf of Vale. Thank you." Cardin gave her a brief nod. "Now that that's taken care of, how much did you two hear?"

"Just about all of it," rumbled Yatsuhashi as he stepped into the room.

"Dude," Fox said, looking in the general direction of Cardin. "Serious respect man. That was pretty hardcore."

"Well," Coco said, standing up and stretching. "That was enough emotion for one day. You boys run ahead to the cafeteria and see Velvet. She's probably wondering where we are at some point." Yatsuhashi nodded and wheeled Cardin out of the room. Fox followed close behind.

"Wait," Cardin said, and the trio froze. Slowly, Cardin stood up out of the wheelchair. "Leave that here." Slowly, step by step, Cardin walked away. Shrugging, the older boys did so and followed their newest teammate.

…

Beacon' cafeteria is the second largest room on Campus – behind only the entrance hall – for good reason. Over ninety five percent of students and faculty chose to dine there for the surprisingly decent food. Several thousand people, and the room was dead silent when Cardin Winchester walked into the room on his own two feet. Then trio located Velvet and quickly sat down to minimalize attention.

"They all hate me, don't they," Cardin whispered, hanging his head. "For what I did."

"No, they don't," Velvet replied, trying to cheer him up.

"Yeah, only about three quarters of the student body hates you for hurting Velvet." Fox explained. It just disheartened Cardin further. "Most of the rest hate you for then turning around and helping her and becoming friends with us."

"But you are not alone Cardin," Yatsuhashi said. "If nothing else, we support you." Cardin nodded, before turning to the food Velvet had been kind enough to get. She had chosen a simple salad, while fox had some pasta dish. The most surprising had been Yatsuhashi. Cardin had guessed from his enormous size, he ate at least a small cow every meal, but the boy giant simply had sushi. Coco showed up eventually, and the small group tried starting up a conversation with him, but when he didn't participate, they gave up.

After some time, Cardin got up and left the table. Velvet tried to follow, but Yatsuhashi grabbed her arm. "Don't," the swordsman whispered. "Every man must face his own demons."

…

Ozpin had been sitting at his desk, trying to go through at least some of beacons paperwork instead of leaving it all to Glynda (which greatly annoyed her) when the dinging of the elevator drew his attention. From it emerged Cardin Winchester.

"I'm glad to see you're doing better, Mr. Winchester," the teacher began, gesturing towards an unoccupied seat. Cardin took it.

"You had asked to see me when I was better," the boy replied. "Here I am."

"So you are. Come, I have something you would most likely want to see." Ozpin got up, heading for the elevator. A puzzled Cardin fell in behind. As the two walked through beacon, neither said a word. Somehow, Ozpin had chosen a route completely devoid of students. Eventually, the pair found themselves in the courtyard, walking away from the school. "Believe it or not," the teacher finally spoke, as they neared a small stand of trees. "I was once a student at this very school, as was most of the staff. But that is beside the point. In my final year, my team was assigned to mentor a younger team. They were by far the best team in their class, and the headmaster at the time – a most boring man by the name of trout – was considering advancing them a year, as a way of evening the playing field for the first years. Do you know who they were?" Cardin shook his head. "The teams' name was COVR (Cover), led by one, Cardin Whey." Cardin's head snapped towards the professor, astounded by the discovery. "Yes, your father, as well as your mother, Victoria Steel. They were quite the pair; undefeated in their year. They would've have won the Vytal tournament if it wasn't for an upstart from Atlas by the name of Ironwood." Ozpin gave a rue chuckle at this, remembering the fight between his longtime friends.

"I appreciate the history lesson," Cardin interrupted. "But is there a point to this? I buried my parents a long time ago, and I don't want to dig them up needlessly."

"Ah, but there is a point, and it is that you are wrong," Ozpin said, stopping suddenly. Cardin looked around, realizing where they were. They had stopped in a small, shaded clearing. Resting at the base of an enormous oak tree, were two, white tombstones. Upon reading them, Cardin feel to his knees.

"I understand that Magent Winchester never let you visit your parents' graves. It was most likely because it was their request to be buried here." Tears welled at the corners of Cardin's eyes. "I tried to move your sister to lay to rest here, but your adoptive father refused."

"Why?" Sobbed the distraught Cardin. "Why now?"

Ozpin, in a surprising moment of open compassion, knelt down and rested a hand on the boy's shoulders. "Surely you must have realized that no amount of medicine or aura could have fixed the sheer amount of pain you took from Miss Scarlatina." And then it clicked.

"My…my father?" Cardin asked, although he understood at that point.

"I visited him in the hospital," Ozpin explained. "I managed to trick his semblance into unloading some of his pain onto me. Not enough to seriously hurt me, but enough for him to live. He woke, early in the morning. He remembered everything, but couldn't face you or your sister. Instead, he vowed to avenge Velvet, your mother. I acquired some technology from Atlas, by way of a certain friend, to replace his lost eyes and fingers. He left for vengeance, and did not see him again, until he came back to save you."

Slowly, Ozpin got up to his feet. "Stay here as long as you need, Mr. Winchester. When you are ready, there is a box in your new room with team CFVY. It has been biometrically sealed so that only you can open it. Inside, there is a key for the entire inheritance you are owed." The teacher turned to walk away, but was stopped.

"Whey, Professor Ozpin," the gladiator whispered emotionally. "Mr. Whey. Junior if you're so inclined." With a nod, the teacher left. Cardin was alone with his parents.

"Hey Dad."

 _Hey reader, thanks for reading. First of all, I'm sorry it is so long in between updates. School is a pain in the ass, as I'm sure everyone knows, so please, bear with me. I made this chapter longer than usual to try to make up for it. Speaking of this chapter, seeing as there is still no real backstory for Ozpin or Cardin, I'm going to make it up as I go. Shoutout to WritingwithGusto (aka Gusto, the Gusto, the Gustorino if you're into that) for being the best beta/reviewer. Also, I need to give a shoutout to a story by the name of_ "Jupiter" _by "_ pnau8694". _The whole village defense thing was inspired by their story, so please, go check it out. It's a really great piece of writing._

 _Once again, please leave a review with your thoughts or questions. It really helps the story along. Favorite if you like the story. Follow if you want to read more._

 _Peace out_


	11. Christmas Special

_Now_

"Cardin," Velvet said somberly. "I never thought I could be so disgusted by you."

 _24 hours earlier_

"I need your help Velvet," Cardin asked. "I want to get everyone Dustmas Gifts, but I don't know what everyone likes." The two students were currently in the library, in the middle of a study session. Team CFVY – plus Cardin – had been chosen to be one of the "on-hand" teams at the academy over break in case of massive Grimm Activity (because Dustmas is SUCH a negative time of the year).

"Well," Velvet said. "You came to the right person. Fox is a huge comic book geek, so get him some tickets to the new Dust Man movie; he'll love it. Yatsuhashi loves poetry and incense, so either of those would work. Coco only likes three things; guns, fashion, and coffee. Now, I would like-"

"Ah ah ah," Cardin interrupted. "If you tell me what you want, then there'll be no surprise in it." He packed up his books and stood up. "Besides, I've already got your gift picked out." He flashed her a toothy smile, turned around, and left her in the library, thoroughly confused.

…

"So," Coco smirked. "Our very own boy wonder has got you confused."

"How does he know me well enough to get me a Dustmas gift already?" the Faunus girl stammered.

"Maybe he's just one of those people who can read others well?" Yatsuhashi offered.

"You guys don't understand," Velvet explained. "I have no idea what to get him!" A dead silence enveloped the room. Somehow, a tumbleweed bounced across the room. "None of you got him anything, did you?"

"EMERGENCY SHOPPING TRIP! FOX, GET THE CASH!"

…

Cardin felt pretty satisfied with himself. He had not only bought a gift for every individual member of his new team, but had found a gift for team CFVYC – Ozpin really needed to work on that new name for them – as a whole. It may have been overkill, but hey, it's not called the season of giving for nothing.

This was all before he ran into four certain individuals at the Vale mall.

"So…come here often?" He asked nervously. Somehow, the gladiator was holding all his presents behind his back.

"Yeah, from time to time." Coco replied. The other four members of his new team were there, also hiding things behind their backs. An awkward silence fell over the group. Well, as close an awkward as you could get in a crowded mall the day before Dustmas.

"How about we just…go our separate ways and pretend we didn't see each other?" Velvet suggests.

"Give me an hour before you come back," Cardin yells, turning around and running away.

 _The next morning…_

Snow drifted down on the beacon campus as the various students and faculty woke up to find their presents. Ozpin had given Glynda a new herbal tea set. Port had gotten Oobleck an all access pass to a collection of ancient Vacuoan Artifacts that had just arrived at Vale Museum. But in CFVYC's room, all hell had broken loose.

"Ultimate metal collection?" Yatsuhashi said confused, holding Cardin's present.

"A book?" Fox said puzzled. It was a picture book intended for children.

"A banana suit?" Coco asked, holding up the neon yellow fabric.

"Cardin," Velvet said somberly. "I never thought I could be so disgusted by you." She turned around, looking away from the playboy magazine he had gotten her.

In a corner, Cardin was panicking. "I swear to Oum, these are not the gifts I got you guys." The disheartened gladiator sunk down onto the floor, muttering to himself.

"Cardin," Coco said. The younger student looked up fearfully into the disappointing eyes of his leader. "We only have two Dustmas traditions here, and the first is that we all give each other thoughtful, nice gifts." Cardin looked back down. "And the second…pranking friends!" Cardin looked back up to see his whole team smiling at him. Velvet's camera flashed, capturing the look of shock on Cardin's face. Raucous laughter exploded in the dorm room as Cardin realized what his friends had done.

Soon enough, all the real presents came out soon enough. Cardin had gone all out getting gifts for his friends. Movie tickets for Fox, as Velvet had suggested, to the midnight premier of Dust Man. He had gotten an incense blend. Coco had received a small bag of death beans; the supposedly strongest Coffee bean in all of Remnant. For Velvet, he had gotten her a Life-Time subscription to a Photography Magazine based in Vale. Finally, for the whole team, he had gotten a warm drink maker, capable of making every person's favorite drink; from Coco's espresso to Yatsuhashi's herbal teas to Velvet's hot chocolate. All in all, it was a great Dustmas.

"So, Coco," Cardin asked, sipping a latte from the new drink machine. "What other pranks did you guys pull.

 _Elsewhere in the school…_

Muffled Screams echoed from inside the team RWBY dorm. Cries of 'Let us out' to 'Kill me now' could be heard throughout the building. But above it all, everyone could hear the blonde brawler singing.

"It's the most, pun-derful time of the year!"

 **Omake**

Bodies littered the beacon campus, groaning. Yang had stormed through the building, armed with the book of puns someone had been kind enough to leave in her room. The only people who had weathered the storm were the faculty, having barricaded themselves in the teachers' lounge. Yang sat on a throne of text books – how'd she build that? – in the main lobby. Suddenly, the front doors flew open, and a cloaked figure entered the school.

"So…" Yang drawled, "Someone survived my pun-ishment. I'm impressed."

"Hi impressed," the figure said, throwing back the hood of the cloak. "I'm Dad."

 _Happy Holidays everyone. I was feeling the christmas spirit and decided to put something out today just because. This isn't really part of the story, but it's in the same universe. As I said, just for if it isn't particularly good, I wrote it in the last 30 minutes. I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season. Follow, Favorite, Review, you guys know the deal at this point._

Peace out


	12. Chapter 11

_To those who noticed the formatting issue, thank you so much. Here is the re-uploaded version._

"Welcome," Glynda Goodwitch said. Although she was speaking at a normal volume, her voice could be heard in throughout the entire arena. The entirety of the first and second years had been gathered in the stand on a Friday afternoon. But even with this mass of humanity, and Faunus, dead silence prevailed.

"You have been gathered here today for a special event," the blonde teacher continued. "A first year student is accelerating into the second year. To do this, the student must defeat both a first and a second year, individually, following standard tournament rules. The two students have already been chose. Would both Jaune Arc and Yatsuhashi Daichi please retrieve their gear from the locker rooms and report to the floor." Murmurs then ran around the gathered students. Jaune – although improved greatly than he had been at the beginning of the year – was not much of a threat. On the other hand, Yatsuhashi "The Mountain" Daichi had only lost to two individuals in his grade, ever. One had a mini-gun purse. The other had a camera.

But that wasn't what was peculiar about the choices. It was fairly common knowledge that both young men had extremely high aura reserves; each topping their own grades in raw potential. The fact that Goodwitch, or her boss, wanted these two was indicative of only one thing; they were expecting a beating.

Once the two hunters in training had reached the colosseum floor, a shush fell over the crowd. Goodwitch turned to the students, addressing them directly. "You will each fight your opponent individually. It will follow tournament rules; the match ends with either you exiting the arena, being knocked into the red zone, or forfeit. Do you understand?" Both nod. "Then I will let you decide who will fight first. The other may wait on the edge of the ring until it is their turn, but they may not interfere." She turned and left the two boys to discuss amongst themselves.

After a few minutes, Jaune found himself standing alone in the center of the arena, with everyone's eyes on him. One of these days, he would stop settling everything with rock paper scissors. He could just never win.

 ** _CLANG_**

A thunderous footstep echoed from the tunnel hallway leading to the arena.

 ** _CLANG_**

 _Wow,_ Jaune thought to himself. _Kind've intimidating, to be honest._

 ** _CLANG_**

Okay, really intimidating.

 ** _CLANG_**

Fine, Jaune was scared shitless.

 ** _CLANG_**

Finally, an enormous armored figure stepped out of the shadowy hallway into the ring. It stood right around seven and a half feet tall. Blue and gold plate armor covered every inch of the body, except two slits on the helmet for sight. (Use the URL on at the end of the chapter to see it) Over the left shoulder protruded the handle of a very large mace…wait a second.

"Cardin?" Jaune yelped. The sight of his former bully was more terrifying than he had ever been before.

"Yes," the hulking form of Cardin affirmed. "Jaune, I want you to know, that I take no pleasure in doing this. But I will pass my test."

To the larger boys surprise, Jaune just grinned back at him, "Well then, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I kind of want this test to be hard for you." Slowly a chuckle rose between the two former enemies. But at the sound of the starting alarm, the two knights exploded toward one another.

 ** _Earlier_**

 _Cardin was in something of a dilemma. For the first time in in his entire life, he had to deal with something he hadn't expected to deal with for several more years; girl roommates. This was why he was pounding on the bathroom door, holding a bundle of his clothes, waiting on Coco to hurry up and get out of the toilet._

 _"We did warn you," Yatsuhashi said, as he sat cross legged on the floor, entirely ready for the day. "She can take a long time without any pressing circumstances._

 _"You could have showered and what not before she had gotten out of bed," Fox commented idly. Fox, for his part, was back in his bed trying his damnedest to go back to sleep. Suddenly, the door to the room clicked open and Velvet walked in._

 _"Oh please Fox, you used to take twice as long at the very minimum," Velvet retorted, smiling at her teammates. Naturally she had been able to hear what they had been talking about in the hall. Cardin dejectedly sighed on flopped back down onto his bead to wait Coco out. As he flopped onto his mattress, he arm his something hard with a loud_ thunk. _Confused, he fished around in his sheets until he came up with a metal box. Knowing he had certainly not left it there, the gladiator took a closer look at the container. It was a uniform black color with what looked like a fingerprint scanner on the top. Suddenly, a piece of his conversation with the headmaster the other day leaked back into his thoughts. Realization dawned on the boy's face as he recognized what he was holding. Before the young man could put away the box, someone snatched it out of his hands. Cardin's head snapped up. In his examination of the box, he had failed to notice Coco getting out of the toilet._

 _"What cha'got here Cardin," Coco said looking carefully at the box._

 _"Personal stuff," he grunted standing up and snatching the box back. Coco tried to grab it again, but Cardin lifted it over his head, well out of Coco's reach. A smug smile spread across his face. It was short lived as, much the his chagrin, someone else grabbed it out of his hand. Yatsuhashi had stood up and taken it from Cardin's hand._

 _"Biometric fingerprint reader as well as aura reader," The taller boy said, looking closely at the device. "What are you so desperate to hide?"_

 _"None of your dust damned business," growled Cardin, jumping up to grab the box from Yatsuhashi. The samurai effortlessly avoided the swipe and flipped the box over to Fox, who somehow managed to catch it._

 _"Feels like dust infused steel," commented the dark skinned student. "Almost indestructible. But I think we got some tools in the forge that can pop this sucker open." Fox stood up and started walking toward the door, but Cardin lunged at the boy with aura-enhanced speed. Fox managed to dance backwards and avoid the gladiators outstretched hands._

 _He was about to toss it back to Coco when Velvet interrupted. "Guys!" She stormed up to Fox and grabbed the box before walking over to Cardin. The boy was slumped against the wall – which had a sizable dent in it now – with a pained expression on his face. "I'm sorry Cardin, that was wrong of us."_

 _At first the boy didn't respond, but a beat later he gently took the box from Velvet. To everyone's surprise, Cardin placed his thumb on the reader at the top. A moment later, a drawer slid out and a key, made entirely out of fire dust emerged. The boy gently picked up the key and stood up, facing his team._

 _"Please sit down, I have some explaining to do." Once everyone had sat down – save Velvet, who had chosen to stand next to Cardin for support – Cardin continued. "This…is my story. It all started twelve years ago…"_

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _"So…" Coco said, breaking the stunned silence. "Let me get this straight. You and your family got tortured when you were a kid, by Faunus, with your parents being killed. Few years later, Sister kills herself. Few more years, you show up here behaving like douche because of these problems. One day, you lose it, take it out on Velvet, we take it out on you, and you're both hurt. Few weeks later, which we all know what happen then, we get sent to find the old healer guy to save you. In some weird twist, the old guy is your not-so-dead dad. He saves you, then actually dies. I miss anything?"_

 _"Both my parents are buried here, Ozpin chose not to tell us" added Cardin. "And my last name is Whey." A silence sunk into the room again. Velvet had ended wrapping an arm around Cardin during his story. With a sudden movement, Coco stood up and hugged her newest teammate fiercely. Eventually, everyone joined in. Despite nearly having a lung popped (thanks a lot Daichi!), Cardin enjoyed the new solidarity he shared with his team. But eventually, someone had to break their foul mood._

 _"Don't go near Yang with your new name," Fox said. "There's no Whey she'd let it go!" Laughter exploded out of the five teen._

 _"Now," Coco said, bringing the group back down to earth. "Here's the plan. Cardin, get in there and get ready. Velvet, Yatsuhashi, go get food from the cafeteria for breakfast. Fox and I will go explain to Goodwitch that we need her to delay the match to the afternoon so we can 'Help prepare you for the test'. After that…" She looked over her sunglasses at Cardin. "Let's go see what that key unlocks."_

 ** _Present_**

In the VIP (Very important professors) box above the ring, Ozpin sat calmly watching the ongoing match before him. He had to admit, Jaune was chosen solely because he could take a beating and because Miss Xiao Long was currently unavailable (he had given team RWBY some time to recuperate from the Breach incident for their extraordinary and invaluable efforts). But, to the professor's pleasant surprise, Jaune was actually managing to put up an adequate defense and fight strategically. For a person with absolutely no prior training (like Ozpin couldn't tell fake transcripts when he sees them), Jaune had progressed remarkably quickly. He had no doubt that Jaune could have wan a fight with the average fourth year at Signal at his current level. Unfortunately for the blonde knight, Cardin Whey (Jr.) had advanced to another level that few first years could hope to match. Speaking of that…

Ozpin glanced over at the other two teachers sharing the both with him. Peter Port's and (Dr.) Bartholomew Oobleck's jaws were still resting comfortably on the floor, where they had dropped to upon seeing the young Mr. Whey's entrance.

"Gentlemen," Ozpin said quietly, gaining their attention. "You may wish to close your mouths before a death stalker mistakes them for caves and take up residence." Both jaws snapped shut with an audible _click._

Just as soon as his mouth had shut, Oobleck's began moving at his customary mile a minute speech, "B-b-but that's…that's impossible! There shouldn't be any left unaccounted for!"

"Any what?" Port asked, obviously confused. "Sets of armor? If you think that my dear friend, then-"

"What he means Peter," Ozpin said, sipping at his coffee. "Is that there shouldn't be any more of this type of armor left unaccounted for."

Even more confused, the mustached teacher began to reply, "What's so special about-"

"It's Soulplate Peter. Honest to Oum Soulplate!" Oobleck shouted, waving his arms.

 _Cricket Cricket_

"Would you care to explain the significance of that statement Doctor? I'm sure Peter could greatly benefit from it," Ozpin said, standing up to refill his coffee from his and Bart's special brew.

"Of course," the history teacher replied, pushing up his glances. "Long ago, before the widespread use of firearms, hunters were looking for any advantage they could get over the creatures of Grimm. One short-lived strategy was the use of _soul forging_. Hunters and huntresses were trained from scratch at the academies – the establishment of combat school had yet to become common – to fight Grimm. As a part of their final initiation into hunting, they were required to make their own weapons. When making their own armor and weapons, would fuse their aura – their very soul – into their creations. As there was a much smaller variety of weapons in that period, there were only ever two kinds of creations made with this process; Soulplate and SoulBlades."

"Very interesting," Port interrupted. "They are truly magnificent pieces of artistic talent."

Oobleck shot his friend an annoyed glare before continuing his impromptu lesson. "They are most certainly not pieces of art! A regular soldier in a suit of Soulplate could fight with the strength of twenty men. A fully trained hunter could defeat legions. The piece of aura forged into the plate reacts and binds with the aura of the wearer. The armor can mold itself to the size of the wearer; be they a giant of dwarf. Once bonded, the bearer will be able to move faster and hit harder than humanly possible without straining themselves. The plate can even repair itself, with aura from the bearer. And the Blades! Known to never break, dull, or rust. They have thus far been found indestructible."

"Then why on remnant aren't these more common!" Demanded Port. "This could be a game changer."

"Two reasons," Ozpin said, rejoining his peers. "The first is that there were never many made. The forging of Soularms is an extremely dangerous process. You are literally inserting a portion of yourself into the armor or blade. If you don't commit enough aura, the suit rejects it and you will be unable to use it. Too much, and you lose your soul, killing you. If it is too greatly damaged in battle, it could shatter your soul. If just used for too long it could drain your entire aura, killing you." Port's eyebrows had been slowly creeping up his face during Ozpin's entire lecture. "The second reason is that many of those that once were, were destroyed in the single greatest conflict in preserved history."

"Yes, the Great war," Oobleck said, continuing his boss's explanation. "Most all hunters with Soulplate or Blade were forcibly conscripted into their nations military at the early onset of the war. It was practically an arms race. Most of the bearers died in battle; either at the hands of other bearers or overwhelming numbers."

"A few notable pieces survived however," Ozpin said, sipping his coffee. "Crocea Mors – the sword part – is a soul blade. Though, young Mr. Arc has yet to unlock the blades true potential. The Arcs actually have a few more pieces, but are hardly ever used. Jacques Schnee owns a set of plate, but it has been horribly deformed and stretched to fit an automaton of his."

"But this doesn't explain how Mr. Winchester received a complete set!" Oobleck retorted, turning to the white haired headmaster. "His father is fairly rich from the defense contracts his company has, but he is nowhere near that rich!"

"One," Ozpin said quietly, a small, knowing smile touching the corners of his lips. "Carran Winchester is his adopted father. Secondly, his name is Cardin Whey, Jr." Shock once again overtook the two men's faces. "Now come, the second match is about to start."

 _Hey reader, thanks a lot for checking out my story. Favorite if you like what you've read. Follow if you want to read more. Leave a review if you have a question or spot a proble, (like weird formatting issues, sorry). I want to give a quick shoutout to you guys, all of you, who read my story. When I posted the first chapter of this story, I got a whole twenty views. We are now over six and a half thousand. It may not seem like much to compared to some of the ore well known writers, but for a novice like me it means a lot. Thank you all so much. Peace out._

 **Sorry, no URL for the image of the armor. FF won't let me post this chapter with it. If you want to see what I mean, message me and I'll try to figure out how to send it.**


	13. Chapter 12

Paladin and Samurai stood at opposite sides of the beacon sparing arena, prepared for their battle ahead. Jaune had already been scraped off the wall and was carried out by his friends and teammates (how did Beacon afford all the damage their students caused?). Glynda Goodwitch walked calmly out to the center of the octagon.

"Good first match, Mr. Whey," the blonde professor started. Murmurs from the confused students buzzed around, ranging from _'Who is this guy?'_ to _'Is he single?'_ "You were able to overcome your opponent on strength, but still managed to fight tactically, avoiding unnecessary risks. You will not be expected to win this next fight, but I do expect you to improve, is that understood?" Cardin's armored head nodded slowly. "Are both fighters ready?" Both shifted into their respective combat stances. Cardin hefted his mace off his shoulder with his right hand and held it in a two-handed grip in front of him, left foot in front of the right. Yatsuhashi offered Cardin his side and held his oversized sword in an inside guard.

"Begin!" the teacher announced, walking fast enough to border on run to avoid being in between the two titans of students. For a brief moment, neither moved. Then, almost at the same time, both charged at each other. Cardin actually out sped the older student, and the two clashed on Yatsuhashi's half. Sword met mace in a thunderous collision, stopping each other dead. A blast of wind blew out from the point of contact, blowing any loose dust and debris from the arena hard enough that the energy dome activated to stop it. The two colossal kids pushed against each other for a moment, but disengaged. Cardin brought his mace down in a two handed grip on Yatsuhashi, only for the swordsman to deflect the strike to the side. Exploiting the opening, Yatsuhashi swung his sword horizontally at Cardin.

Only for the strike to be stopped dead as Cardin _caught_ the sword with his left hand. With his other, Cardin brought his mace up and landed a hit under his opponents chin, knocking the swordsman back and off balance. Continuing his momentum, Cardin spun around and hurled the mace underhanded at Yatsuhashi. The business end of the mace struck the larger boy, sending him reeling. Cardin stepped undo the ricochet, catching the mace and falling back into a mid-guard. Yatsuhashi regained his balance several paces away.

 _Cardin – 90%_

 _Yatsuhashi – 80%_

"Interesting tactic," Yatsuhashi, briefly holding his sword in front of him in a salute, which Cardin returned. "Not many opponents have held a lead over me." With a start, Yatsuhashi sprung forward and stuck at Cardin. The paladin brought his mace up to block, but the swords strike _launched_ him across the arena, rolling to a stop on the opposite side. "Only a handful have ever made me use my semblance against them."

"And how many of them won?" Cardin asked, rising to his feet. As the crowd watched the massive dent in his armor forcibly bent back into position.

"Two," Yatsuhashi said, advancing on him. "Two very nice young ladies. Mutual friends of ours."

"That makes more sense," Cardin replied, walking back towards the center.

 _Cardin – 60%_

 _Yatsuhashi – 75%_

As the two met in the center, Cardin brought his mace down with both hands. Again, Yatsuhashi deflected it to the side. However, as the swordsman brought his blade around for a counterstroke, Cardin's gauntleted fist crashed into his face, stunning the larger boy for a moment. Seizing the opening, Cardin swing his mace low, hitting his teammate in the side of the knee before bringing it back to hit his chest. The second blow knocked Yatsu off his feet, and the big huntsman in training had to roll to avoid an armored stomp. The swordsman threw a wild swing in, forcing the armored boy to step back, giving him time to regain his feet.

 _Cardin – 55%_

 _Yatsuhashi – 60%_

This time, neither exchanged words. Instantly, the clash of weapons filled the hall. The deep clanging of the hits echoed and reverberated, shaking the windows in their panes. Blow after blow was stopped by the other, with the occasional lucky shot striking an exposed part. After a full minute of combat, the two were caught in a deadlock, mace pushing against sword.

 _Cardin – 25%_

 _Yatsuhashi – 25%_

"It seems you forgot something," Cardin grunted, pushing down on the bigger student with all his might.

"And…what would that…be?" struggled the clearly exhausted second year.

"I'm a leftie," Cardin said, suddenly stepping back, out of the engagement. Yatsuhashi, having been leaning so forward to match his opponents strength, stumbled. In that moment, Cardin tossed his mace up in the air, caught it with his left hand, and brought it crashing down on his teammates back. The blow knocked the swordsman flat onto the ground, cracks spreading in every direction. A siren blared, and Cardin up at the scoreboard.

 _Cardin – 23% W_

 _Yatsuhashi – 19% L_

A few moments of deafening silence passed, before a roar erupted from every first year. Now, not everyone in that year were friends with Cardin, or much less liked him, but if there was one thing they did like, it was watching a second year lose to one of their own. Back in the ring, Cardin popped off his helm, revealing his sweaty face, before helping his opponent, and now peer, to their feet. As the two shook hands, Glynda Goodwitch strode out into the arena.

"Well fought to both parties," she said, genuine shock (and perhaps a touch of pride) coloring her voice. "Both of you performed exemplary. Mr. Daichi, your usual plan of defend and counter, while sound, proved ineffective in this match due to your opponent being stronger and faster than you. I understand it is a feeling you are not used to…" several chuckles came from the audience. "But it does happen from time to time. Plan for that in the future."

"Mr. Whey," Cardin held his breath for a brief moment. "Well fought. I have no advice for you based on your performance." Turning to face the audience, "Mr. Whey has cleared all exams for his acceleration. You are all expected to be present for the team ceremony this afternoon. All classes for the day are excused, but you are to remain on campus. Dismissed." The blonde professor walked out of the arena. Cardin threw Yatsuhashi's arm over his shoulder and helped the boy out to the locker rooms.

… … … … … … …

"Easy does it buddy," Cardin said, lowering his teammate onto to a bench on the locker room. "Good fight out there."

"Yeah, sure," groaned the swordsman. "When the dust did you learn to fight that well?"

"Here, actually," Cardin replied, sitting on a different bench, facing towards the winded Yatsuhashi. "Most of my fights here, I ignored the advice Ms. Goodwitch gave. So, I went back and looked at the tapes of the fights, what her advice was, and put it to use when practicing with Velvet and Coco this week."

"Yeah, and he definitely would have lost if we hadn't helped!" Coco's voice yelled from the doorway. She, Velvet and Fox all walked into the locker room a moment later, grins on their faces. Velvet gave Cardin a brief pat on the shoulder before helping Yatsu with his gear. Coco continued, "Honestly a little mad at you two right now, you lost me a fair piece of money to a particularly crafty individual."

"Who'd you bet against?" Cardin asked curiously, standing up to start putting his gear away.

"I'm obliged not to tell," the fashionista began. "But in case you were wondering, it is officially rabbit season." The two boys turned surprise expression to Velvet, who was trying (read failing) to suppress a smile.

"You'd bet against me Velvet?" Yatsuhashi asked. "I'm hurt." He gave a reasonably good charade of being grievously injured.

"Well, it's not so much that I was betting against you, I was just betting against Coco," the rabbit Faunus said, giving a sheepish smile.

"Your confidence is inspiring Velvet," Cardin said over his shoulder. As the girl spluttered trying to think of a comeback, The Paladin absently walked to an empty space in the middle of the room. Sinking down to one knee, Cardin planted both fists on the floor, before twisting them both in. With a slight grinding sound, the pauldrons separated from the breastplate. Then, section by section, the entire arms collapsed, each piece sliding over the piece below it until it only extended halfway up Cardin's forearm. As Cardin stood up, the chest and back pieces slid down over the stomach, before the section split on the right side. Cardin carefully pulled it off his left side, fastening it back together before carefully placing it next the gauntlets. Straightening back up, the lower half of Cardin's armor split around the crotch, before each leg collapsed, much like the arms previously. Finally, Cardin stepped out of the boots in nothing more than black, full body synthetic suit.

He glanced over at his team, and all four of their mouths were agape. "You guys can pick your jaws up off the floor now."

"Where'd you get it?" "How's it work?" "Can I have it?" "Can I take a picture?" The other four spoke so fast and at the same time, so that Cardin couldn't tell who said what (although he had a hunch who asked for a picture).

"It runs off aura, otherwise all the mechanics and gears are manual, kind like what's in Jaune's shield. No, you can't have it. You can take a picture of it when I'm in it, and…it was a gift from someone dear to me." The younger boy said, answering all the questions at once.

"You got a wealthy secret admirer or something?" Coco teased, looking over her glasses.

"No…"

"Secret sponsorship by a big company?"

"No, I- "

"Stolen Atlesian Tech?"

"NO!" Cardin roared, silencing his new leader. Taking a deep breath, he composed himself. "I'll explain later. Please, leave it at that."

"Alright," Coco said, holding up her hands. "I won't press. But if any Generals show up about missing weapons, I'm blaming you."

"Thank you," he sighed before sitting on the bench, holding his head in his hands. Someone tapped his shoulder, and Cardin looked up into Velvet's eyes as the girl offered him a bottle of water. He flashed her appreciative smile before downing the drink in one. Taking another deep breath, he looked back to Velvet. "I think it's time Velvet." Confusion bloomed across her face for a moment before it clicked in her mind and she muttered a soft oh. "Can you have everyone meet at the statue in half an hour?" The girl nodded and gave him a quick hug for support, before moving off to tell everyone.

… … … … … … …

"So…come here often?" Nora asked the assembled group of friends, breaking the awkward silence. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVYC – minus the V and second C – were all standing around by the hero statue in the courtyard at the insistence of Velvet. No one answered Nora.

"You know," Yang drawled. "We should totally just reserve this spot. Maybe charge others rent for using it."

"Not a bad idea," Coco said, nodding at the two first-years. "I can't see why we couldn't…"

"I'll give you two reasons not to," Velvet yelled. "Goodwitch and Ozpin"

The group turned to see Velvet and Cardin walking toward the group. Cardin wore his casual set of clothes, a black t-shirt with his bird emblem over the left breast, over dark blue jeans, black boots and a brown leather jacket. It looked surprisingly nice, now that Cardin had started gaining his musculature back and had let his hair grow out some. In his left hand, Cardin carried a bouquet of white roses. Cardin immediately strode over to Jaune, causing the rest of JNPR to tense.

"Thank you for helping with my test earlier," Cardin said, his voice surprisingly soft and calm. "I hope it wasn't an inconvenience for you." He offered the knight a hand, which Jaune took. NPR relaxed.

"Nah, not a problem. Something of a pain, but not an inconvenience. You didn't need to get me flowers." The knight joked, absently rubbing his right shoulder. Instinctively, Cardin reached out and laid his hand on the shoulder. A flash of aura later, and Jaune stopped wincing. "Woah, what'd you do?"

Velvet walked over and swatted Cardin's arm, "What'd I tell you about using your semblance willy nilly?"

"Not to," Cardin replied casually, like they had had this discussion many times. "And what was my response?"

"Watch me…" Velvet grumbled. Cardin chuckled, causing Velvet to whack his arm again.

"And sorry Jaune," the paladin added, giving the knight a small grin. "but the flowers aren't for you."

"Not that that wasn't amusing to watch," Weiss said, drawing the groups attention. "But why exactly did you bring us here? I'm sure that not all of us have done our homework?" She fired a glare at Ruby, who hid in her hood.

With a deep sigh, Cardin spoke, "I need to come clean to all of you. About who I am, and why I was the way I was. And while I know that it will not excuse my actions, my conscience demands it of me. If you would follow me." Cardin started walking away from the school, the rest of the group following behind. After a few moments of walking, they arrived beneath a familiar willow tree, where two tombstones stood.

"My name, is Cardin Whey Jr.," Cardin began. "And this is my story…"

… … … … … … …

 _Winchester Estate, North-West Vale._

A middle-aged man sat in his office, seething at the monitor before him. Carran Winchester, the single wealthiest man in all Vale, and second in the world, wore a grey suit, with a matching tie and slightly darker dress shirt. Just past his prime, the forty-seven-year-old man still had a powerful frame, though not as strong as he had been in his youth. Angrily, he replayed the video clip again.

Ozpin's voice came out small hidden speakers, "…and I present to you, the newly formed team, CFVYC (Coffee Cake)!" The sounds of cheering came out of the speakers for a brief instant before the clip cut off.

So…the little wretch he had taken in years ago, had not only _lost_ the team he had set up for him, but was now freely associating with one of those _animals_. The thought disgusted Carran. But no, not only that. It appeared, if the rumors were true, that somehow Cardin had gotten ahold of the missing Whey inheritance he had been trying for so long to take away from the boy. In a fit of anger, the elder Winchester punched cleanly through computer on his desk.

"TEAL!" he roared. Promptly, a maid appeared from the doorway, a shaggy brown dog tail between her legs.

"Yes master?" She asked, her voice filled with fear.

"Call the airfield, have them prepare my personal jet. I have a son to punish."

 _Hey reader, thanks for reading my story, I know, most of you will probably be shocked, I'm updating twice in a month, but in my defense, I was home sick for most of a week so I put out a chapter for Grimm-born and this story._

 _In all seriousness, I need to ask you all a question that I haven't been able to answer for myself. "How far should this story go?" I can either wrap this story up before the Vytal Festival/Massacre, or go through it and into Volume 4, continuing indefinitely. Let me know in a review._

 _As always, if you liked story so far, favorite it. If you want to keep up to date with the latest chapter, follow. If you like my style of writing, check out my other stories. Shout-out to WritingwithGusto, who I got the idea for the story from and for being the best reviewer ever (look up a story called "Silent Pain" if you don't believe me). And last but certainly not least, please leave a review with your thoughts. I go through every review personally and reply to all the ones I can. You guys do so much to help me right this story, I'm really grateful._

 _Peace out_


	14. Chapter 13

Cardin would have loved to describe the day as beautiful and sunny, but there were three problems with that: 1) It was raining. 2) His team was stuck inside. 3) The monkey Faunus was nowhere to be found. So yeah, neither beautiful or sunny. His sentiments were reflected on the extremely bored faces of his teammates. Well, except for one. Velvet was being the only productive member of their team, working on some assignment or another at their shared desk. Fox was idly lounging in his bed. Yatsuhashi sat cross-legged on his meditation carpet, which he insisted was _not_ a yoga mat. Coco was doing maintenance on her purse, and finally, Cardin sat in his bed reading a bunk.

"Are you sure we can't do _something_ fun?" Coco whined.

"No," Velvet explained for the umpteenth time. "We have homework to do."

"When did Velvet become leader?" Fox asked.

"Funny, Fox," the rabbit Faunus deadpanned. "How's the history essay going?"

"You know," Yatsu said, emerging from his meditation (or more probably nap). "I think she is less our leader and more our manager."

"That's pretty accurate," snorted Coco. "Besides, I'd hate to have to deal with an usurper."

"Guys," whined the increasingly flustered girl.

"She's also like our maid," Fox added, sitting up. "She's usually the one who pushes us to get our room clean for inspections."

"Are you guys really going to do this?" Velvet said, slamming her book closed.

"What do you think Cardin?" Coco called out. Immediately, four pairs of eyes swiveled to the youngest member of the team, who tried to hide behind his book.

After a moment of silence, Cardin gave a very intelligent, "Uhh…"

With a sigh, Coco put down her work and looked over her shades at the boy. "You do know you are allowed to joke with us, right?"

"You need to get over this," Velvet softly spoke, flashing him a reassuring smile. "None of us hold anything against you."

"Except some very large bruises," Yatsuhashi grumbled, eliciting a chuckle from the group.

With a sigh, Cardin spoke up. "Well in that case… team mom Velvet?" The four older students blinked twice, before Coco, Fox, and Yatsuhashi roared with laughter. Velvet's face turned bright red, and she threw her book at the younger boy's head. It hit its mark, but it only brought out more laughter. Soon enough, the entire group were clutching their sides with mirth.

A few minutes later, the five teens were all laying down on their bunks, clutching stiches in their sides. Cardin's phone buzzed, and the hunter in training pulled it out of his pocket. Surprisingly enough, it was Ozpin:

 _Come up to my office, immediately._

Rising to his feet, Cardin slipped out the door without a word to his teammates. That didn't mean they didn't notice.

… … … … … … …

Throughout the long walk to the elevator, Cardin's mind was whirling a mile a minute. He may have not been the smartest person in his class – even he realized that – but that didn't mean that he wasn't smart enough to figure something was up. Ozpin had three tones: his teaching tone, where he would give a lesson in cryptic messages so twisted and convoluted that it gave most people headaches, his nice voice, which he would use to give helpful lessons and encouragement, and his serious tone, which he reserved for dire situations. Cardin had a feeling that if the text was given face to face, the headmaster would use the latter option.

Cardin had reached the elevator by the time he made this decision. Now, he just had to figure out what was the issue. His first idea, his grades, was quickly dismissed. Since transferring up to CFVYC, his grades had not only been passing but had been improving. He also hadn't been into Vale since well before the incident with the white fang, so a legal issue was unlikely. Not impossible, Oum knew he had done plenty of horrible things before he changed his life around. Before he could think of another issue, the elevator dinged, signaling the end of his journey. As the doors slid open, a voice Cardin had been hoping to never hear again greeted him.

"Ah, if it isn't my little boy Cardin," a smooth baritone voice, which to Cardin sounded more like the rasp of a steel gate, boomed across the office. Carran Winchester rose out of a chair on the opposite side of room, next to Ozpins desk. The headmaster remained seated, showing no emotion other than a tight grip on his coffee mug.

"Please, have a seat," Ozpin said, gesturing to one of the chairs across from him. Cardin took slow, deliberate steps toward the desk, like a man walking to his execution. He pulled the chair out, and slightly away from his adoptive father, before settling in it. Through great effort, Cardin's face remained neutral. The same could not be said for his racing heart. The headmaster took a sip from his cup before continuing, "Do you know why you are hear?" Cardin shook his head.

Before Ozpin continued, Carran interrupted, "You, my boy, are being transferred to a new school. A little joint venture between Winchester arms, the SDC, and a few other interested parties to train an international hunters academy. You're going to be one of the first students there."

"No!" Cardin immediately snapped. He took a deep breath before continuing in a more controlled tone. "No, I am not being transferred to this new, school of yours."

"I don't think you understand, boy," Carran said, his brow lowering into a glare. "As your legal guardian, I am deciding that you _will_ be transferring to the International Hunters Academy."

"That is not entirely correct," Ozpin said, interjecting into the conversation.

"Yes, it is," Carran insisted, turning back to the silver-haired man. "The age for legal independence in Vale is 21. If this was Vale or Atlas, then yes, as an 18 year old he would be independent."

"For civilians, that is correct," Ozpin said. "For hunters in training, like the young Mr. Whey here, or soldiers in training, they are legally independent as soon as they sign-up. That is to give them responsibility for their actions, should there be an accident during training. Thus, if he doesn't want to leave, he doesn't have to."

"Then," the older Winchester drawled out. "as the person funding his attendance, I will cease funding his attendance to Beacon. As the payment for this semester has not been turned in yet, he is here illegally, and will therefore have to leave."

"Mr. Whey has qualified for a non-refundable grant from beacon academy, covering tuition, materials room and board, as he is an orphan." Cardin winced a little at the term, but remained silent. After a sip of coffee, and before Carran could interject, Ozpin continued. "Even if that wasn't the case, or if he were to be found, or made, ineligible, then he would still have more than sufficient funds to pay his full, 4-year tuition."

The gears in Winchester's head grinded, as did his jaw, before the man spoke up, "I hold a seat on the council Ozpin, and I have friends. I can make life difficult for students. Now, unless-"

"As the headmaster of the kingdom's academy, I hold two seats on the council, and I have more friends." Ozpin said, rising to his feet. "Ignoring your veiled threat against my students, you also have no authority over the running of this school. It takes a two-thirds majority and agreement from me to make changes here. I believe we are done here, Mr. Winchester. The elevator is behind you."

With a grunt, the middle-aged man rose to his feet. He turned to Cardin and muttered quietly, "You know what happens when you don't comply with me, boy. Don't make the same mistake she made." Cardin shuddered as the man left. When the elevator shut, Cardin sagged into his chair.

"What did he say?" Ozpin said to his student, lowering himself back into his seat.

"A reminder of something horrible," Cardin muttered. Shaking his head, he looked Ozpin in the eyes. "Can you keep people off campus?"

Ozpin took a swig from his mug, as if contemplating the request, "Some people from some places, but not him. As a councilman, he has the authority to inspect the school for misconduct. I can keep out his subordinates, at least for the near future. If we were in an emergency situation, I could bar all access, but I doubt I could declare that without an actual threat."

"Whatever you can do, thank you." Cardin stood up and retreated to the elevator. Through the long ride down, his mind was back into his chaos. He knew exactly what the old man wanted. To the people in the know, it was fairly obvious. The problem was how to keep it from him. As the elevator opened, Cardin hurriedly stepped out, making his way to the courtyard. He needed a breath of fresh air.

Instead, as he stepped outside, he got a kick to the back of the knee and a shove to the ground. "Hey little birdie, it's been a while." With a groan, Cardin rolled away from the voice and to his feet. Standing to the side of the doorway, was none other than Steel Winchester, the first son of Carran Winchester. Three inches taller and thirty pounds heavier, the boy was a mountain of brawny muscle. His beady dark eyes and black hair matched his father's complexion. "I see you're still weak."

"And I still see you're not following the rules." Cardin grunted, taking a relaxed but ready stance. "This place is for students and faculty only."

"I was a student," Steel grinned stepping toward the smaller boy. Cardin naturally took two steps back. "Once."

"Yeah, until you were dishonorably expelled," Cardin spat back. "We both know why."

"Regardless, I'm now a student at IHA," Steel said, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face. "I'm here for the Vytal festival." Cardin's face flashed in surprise before setting back into a stony scowl. "Oh, not expecting that. You see, the IHA has loser regulations. They care more about what you can do, rather than what you've done. So, you'd better step lightly, boy."

"And you'd better watch who you threaten," a loud, female voice shouted from behind Cardin. A wave a relief flooded through Cardin, but he kept his face still. Coco walked up beside him and leaned against his side. "Who the hell are you anyway, the steroid abuse poster-boy?"

Behind Steel, Velvet lurked in the doorway, her camera hooked on her hip. Yatsuhashi sat on a bench a bit away to Cardin's right, idly sharpening his sword. Fox stood to Cardin's left, leaning against a wall. Steel definitely noticed as well, as he started laughing.

"Who am I?" The taller student wiped a tear of mirth, which wasn't actually there, from the corner of his eye. _Dramatic as always_ Cardin idly thought. "I'm the greatest student this school has had in the last dozen years."

"Your record and exit says otherwise," Cardin responded. "3 wins, five losses, in single combat alone. Not winning a single team engagement. And this was ten years ago, when the standards were lower for entry."

A scowl grew on the older boy's face, "You've grown a mouth on you since you were here. Just like she did," Cardin took a step forward, but Coco snagged his arm.

"The visitors dorm is behind the campus, not here. Return to your room before we call security." With a chuckle, the boy did a 180 and left, 'accidently' brushing Velvet on the way past and knocking her into the wall. Coco turned as well, dragging Cardin with her. The group of five remained silent until they had reached their dorm, Coco keeping hold of his arm the entire way. Once inside, the fashionista sat him down at the desk, the four older students forming a semi-circle around help, blocking all escape routes.

"So, you wanna tell us what that was about?" Fox began, breaking the awkward silence.

"Not particularly?" Cardin replied, hoping to get out of the confrontation. His teammates weren't impressed. "I was called up to Ozpin's office because my… adoptive father, Carran Winchester, came for a visit. He wanted to move me to a school he's sponsoring, the IHA, but Ozpin and I managed to get out of it. The small boulder you met in the courtyard was his son, Steel. I'd put money that Carran sent him to find a way to pressure me to move to the school."

"And why is this school a bad thing?" Velvet asked. "I've heard of the IHA before; it's supposed to be the best funded and equipped school on remnant."

"He wants me to have a quiet accident in a situation he can set up." Cardin sighed, rubbing his head. It was fairly obvious that this was not an issue he wanted to discuss.

"Why would he do that?" Velvet piped up. "He adopted you and your sister for Oum's sake. Why would he do that just to kill you?" At the mention of his sister, Cardin's expression darkened dangerously. Instead of Cardin answering, Yatsuhashi spoke up.

"It's for the inheritance, isn't it?" the big swordsman said. "He wants to kill you to get that suit of armor."

"That's a part of it," Cardin sighed, schooling his opinion. "My parents were… influential and well off people."

"How well off?" Coco asked, peering over her sunglasses.

"Ten percent stock in the SDC, Fifty percent stock in Winchester Arms, as well as a few other companies, mostly in Vale. A smattering of real estate. A few million lien." Cardin replied casually, as if it meant nothing. The other four seemed to think that it wasn't that small, if their open mouths meant anything. "Not that it means anything; I can't get to any of it."

"What?" The four of them yelled.

"I haven't renounced the Winchester name yet, I haven't proven that I am in fact my father's son, and I haven't read my father's will, so I don't know if there are any stipulations on the inheritance. Not to mention that the armor and all the stuff my father left with it aren't in the will, so if I were to pass on, as my technical next of kin, he would get everything I own."

"That's horrible," Velvet said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "And he could get away with this?"

"He's smart, he wouldn't be connected to it. He's got a score of retainers that could do it." Cardin stood up and pushed through his team. "I have some things I need to take care of, in case he tries something. I need a day." As he opened the door, he turned to face his team. "If I don't contact you by noon tomorrow, call Ozpin, then the police." He slammed the door, leaving his teammates alone.

… … … … … … …

It was 1130, and Cardin had yet to be heard from. Needless to say, the rest of team CFVYC was nervous and had split up to search the campus. Frustrated, Velvet was stalking in front of the dorms. Apparently, no one had seen Cardin since he caught a flight down into Vale. His ID had been used to catch a ride back in the morning, but no one had actually seen him. And so, she was pacing, debating calling in Ozpin early.

Suddenly, she stopped. Her ears had picked something up strange; a weird creaking sound. She looked around, but saw no one. The sound came again, and she realized it was above her. She looked up and screamed. Hanging out the old team CRDL dorm was Cardin, a noose around his neck.

 **Hey reader, thanks for reading my story. Sorry it's been a while, I've had less than a week at home out of the last month. I just finished this, so here you go. Favorite if you like the story, follow if you want to keep up with new chapters. Please leave a review with your thoughts, it really helps me write the story. Until next time, peace out**


	15. Chapter 14

_**Hey reader, it's me. I want to start by apologizing for my extended absence. I had a lot of personal issues to work through, which I'd rather not talk about. The important thing is that I'm back, and I'm going to be writing semi-regularly (One chapter for this story, one for my other, so on and so forth).**_

 _ **There is a small issue I'd like all your guys' help with. As some of you may have noticed, I took down my story "Do you believe in Destiny?" this week. If you want the extended reasons for why I took it down, go read Grimm-born. That being said, I want to put another up in its place, and I want your help. I don't do my writing only for myself; I want people to enjoy what I write. So I'm asking all of you guys, when you leave me a review on this chapter, let me know what kind of story you want to read. Any subject, any characters, and pairings.**_

 _ **Now that's out of the way, a little news about this story. We are only a couple chapters away from the Vytal festival (Yay!). That means we're maybe 7-9 chapters away from the end of this story (depending on how I write it). A special thanks to those who've been with me since the beginning.**_

 ** _Anyways, that's enough of me rambling, here you go:_**

"You should be very thankful to whoever unlocked your aura, Mr. Whey," The doctor calmly lectured his patient. Coco and Velvet each sat in armchairs to Cardin's right, with a small table in between. Yatsuhashi stood – more like loomed – in the corner behind the door while Fox perched on the windowsill to Cardin's left. "Without them, you wouldn't be here for me to tell you exactly how lucky you are. While we're on the subject, you should think about thanking Ms. Scarlatina too. Had she taken a moment to, say, tie her shoes, your aura would have run out before she got there." The rabbit faunus lowered her head, as much to hide her blush as to check her shoes.

"Shoes with laces are overrated anyway," Coco said, drawing attention from her teammate. "Is there anything else you need from him? I'm sure that you can imagine that we would like a few words with him."

"No, I don't suppose there is," the doctor sighed heading for the door. He paused there before shooting the group a pointed look. "Don't try to stress him or his throat. We don't want to cause any more damage than already was done. Also, Headmaster Ozpin will be dropping by at some point, so don't be surprised." With that, the doctor quietly closed the door behind him.

"You mind keeping your ears open Velvet?" Coco asked, but didn't really wait for an answer. "Now, let's get this out of the way. You didn't do it, did you." Although she phrased it like a question, her tone made it sound more like a statement of fact, which Cardin's nod confirmed. "Good, then who did?"

"Steel," Cardin grunted, his voice sounding like he gargled gravel for fun.

"The guy we met in the courtyard yesterday?" Yatsuhashi asked. Again, Cardin nodded.

"Any proof there, big guy?" Coco asked, rubbing her forehead. "Can't exactly go to Ozpin with just a name."

"Victoria," the young hunter in training coughed, and tried to sit up, only for Yatsuhashi to put a gentle, yet firm, hand on his shoulder. He laid back down, grumbling under his breath.

"Two names don't do much more good," Coco sighed, hauling herself to her feet. "Well, I'm going to- "

"Oh," was all Fox said, but it was enough to draw everyone's attention. "I think I get it. Cardin, may I?" The young man in question nodded, slightly relieved he wouldn't have to try to explain.

"Victoria was your sister, right Cardin?" Another nod, but the group could see tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes. "And Velvet, didn't you say she killed herself? How?"

"She was found hanging in her closet," the pale-faced girl said, shaking slightly.

"Wait a minute, you're not saying what I think you're saying," Coco stammered. "How the hell is he still free, much less allowed here?"

"No… proof," Cardin wheezed.

"Forget waiting for Ozpin, we need to go talk to him now!" Fox growled.

"Guys," Velvet said, her ears twitching. "Two people coming. Men, I think. One considerably larger than the other." Without a word, Yatsuhashi moved to stand between the bed and door, even as the ladies placed their handbag and camera on the table. Fox seem to do the least, to the untrained eye, but they all noticed how he shifted his weight forward slightly, preparing to jump forward.

It took less than a second more for the two people to reach Cardin's door, and it swung open to reveal Carran in a gun-metal grey suit, with Steel's massive form behind him. The Old man's face sprouted a well-rehearsed smile – not quite reaching his eyes – before stepping into the room and saying, "Cardin, my boy. Look what trouble- "

"Neither of you are welcomed here," Yatsuhashi cut in, overlooking the furious gaze that twisted the old man's face. "Visitation is only permitted for family and teammates."

"Oh, well you see boy, Cardin here is my son. My name is Carran Winchester, of the- "

"We know the truth old timer," this time it was Coco who cut him off. "Now, you can skedaddle back to whatever place you came from and stop bothering us with that awful glare of yours."

Steel surged forward, reaching for the mace strapped to his hip. "If you think you can talk to my father like that, you prissy little bi- "His words were cut off as a purple glow enveloped his form and dragged him out of the room.

"It would seem your mouth hasn't improved at all since you left us, boy." Said the glowering form of Professor Goodwitch, her riding crop leveled at the immobile boy. Ozpin stepped around her and into the now cramped room.

"Good of you to come Ozpin," Carran glowered, his tone just shy of sounding impolite. "You saved me a trip. As of an hour ago, I was reinstated as Cardin's legal guardian after he showed he was not mentally stable to be considered independent. Also, do expect some trouble for your assistant," the man sneered at Goodwitch, "roughhousing my son." The last few words came out sounding a little hoarse, even as the man rubbed his throat.

"I think not," Ozpin's mouth twisted into a little smile as the bespectacled man hand a few papers to Carran. "Your guardianship for Cardin Whey was revoked twenty minutes ago. Mr. Whey had already filed independence when your application was submitted, something which you had been made aware of but seemed to have omitted on your application. That reminds me, Justice Pine would like a few words with you. Furthermore, Cardin's legal guardianship was granted to Ms. Scarlatina when she accepted responsibility for Cardin's parole." Ozpin stepped to the side, as if allowing Carran to leave. The businessman opened his mouth to say something, but Ozpin spoke first. "Also, do expect some trouble for your son threatening my students. Good day sir." Carran tried to say something, but all that came out was a strangled wheeze.

"That doesn't sound very good, Carran," Cardin's surprisingly smooth voice said, as he leveled a smug gaze at the man he had once called father. "You should go back to Vale and have someone look at it." The old man said nothing, settling on simply storming out of the room. A moment later, Steel floated by, still being carried by professor Goodwitch.

"Since you are obviously feeling better, why don't we reconvene in my office," Ozpin offered, sparing the boy a warm smile. "After you've changed and gotten something to eat, of course."

… … … … … … …

"So, there really isn't anything we can do, is there?" Velvet asked, looking crestfallen. Team CFVYC were sitting in Ozpin's office, across the wide desk from the man himself. Glynda was standing over the headmaster's shoulder, looking for all the world like a hawk ready to swoop down on them.

"Realistically, no," Ozpin sighed, taking a sip from his coffee mug. The team had tried to explain their realization to the headmaster, but it seemed he had already figured out the situation. "First, we lack sufficient proof, so it would be Cardin's word against theirs, and for all his faults, Carran does sit on the council."

"Can someone re-examine Victoria's case," Cardin asked, his hands clutching the arms of his chair hard enough for his knuckles to turn white.

"I have personally looked through that case a dozen times," Ozpin said tiredly. "There is no evidence there to suggest foul-play, however much I believe you."

"So, if we can't nail them for what they've already done," Coco said, looking pensive. "What can we do to stop them from doing anything else?"

"There are three options currently," Ozpin began, sounding more like he was giving a lecture than trying to save a student's life. "First, we try to keep them as far away from you as possible. I have already started filing a restraining order, if you are okay with that Miss Adel."

"Why me?" Coco yelped, startled that she was brought into it.

"We would do it for Cardin if we had good enough reason, with proof," Goodwitch answered. "He did threaten you with physical violence, however."

"And while we have full faith in your ability to defend yourself," Ozpin smirked at the fashionista. "We would appreciate if you could feel a little bit nervous."

"I suppose I could," Coco smiled in response, reaching over to nudge Cardin. "Guess that means you'll have to stick nearby now."

"Yes ma'am," Cardin threw her a fake salute.

"That's very good and all," Velvet said, sending a concerned look to Cardin. "But that won't necessarily do much good. Cardin can't always be by Coco, unless you mean her to accompany him to the bathroom."

"Steel may have to be near us anyway," Fox chimed in. "The visiting students still have to go to classes here, and Steel might end up in some of ours."

"True, but he won't do anything in the middle of class," Goodwitch said, twisting her crop in her hands. She looked ready to enforce that statement herself right then and there.

"Moving on," Ozpin said, drawing the conversation back on topic. "From there we have two options; give him what he wants- "

"Which we won't do," Coco interrupted, before Fox dug an elbow into her side.

"Or," Ozpin continued, not at all peeved. "We do something to force his hand, and then catch him doing whatever he does next."

"That does not sound much better," Yatsuhashi commented.

"It's not," Agreed the headmaster. "Either give up everything he has or risk his safety." Cardin stirred then, looking into the distance, toward Vale. "You have something to add, Mr. Whey?"

With a grin, Cardin brought his attention back to the room. "My parents will hasn't been read to me yet." One of Ozpin's eyebrows rose, but a moment later the other one joined it as an expression of surprise took hold, before a wide, genuine smile took its place.

"That might work," Ozpin said, glancing over his shoulder at his deputy. Goodwitch nodded before walking hurriedly toward the elevator. "A risky gambit, Mr. Whey, but it could work."

"Hold up," Coco said, standing up and holding her hands out. "Can someone fill the rest of us in?"

"Carran wants me because of what my parents had," Cardin said, turning toward his team. "I'd go so far as it was the reason he adopted my sister and me."

"While no one is entirely sure what Judge Whey had to his name," Ozpin explained. "But at the time of his death, he was held as one of the top six most powerful men on Remnant: Myself, General Ironwood, Leonardo Lionheart, Jacques Schnee, Ghira Belladonna, and him. As sole remaining heir, all that was theirs is now Cardin's." That got the older students attention. "Professor Goodwitch just left to call Justice Pine. He should be here within the hour."

… … … … … … …

As it turned out, it took only twenty minutes for the Justice to arrive, a thick silver briefcase cuffed to his hand. The man lived up to his name, rather tall with short, bristly hair on his head. After introductions were made, and deciding that Coco, Fox, Yatsuhashi, Velvet and Ozpin would serve as witnesses, they began.

"We are here for the reading of the will and final testimony of Judge Cardin Whey, Senior, and Velvet Whey. Will any who are not here for this place leave the premises." No one moved, so Pine continued. Opening the briefcase, he pulled out a document and began reading from it. "It is the will of Judge Cardin Whey Senior and Velvet Whey that upon their death, all assets, finances and property be transferred to Victoria Whey. If Victoria Whey is deceased, or not of sound mind and body, then all assets, finances and property be transferred to Cardin Whey, Junior. Are you, in fact, Cardin Whey Junior?"

"Yes," Cardin said, voice emotional.

"Do the witnesses all stand by this claim?" Pine asked. One by one, they all said yes. "Then I will enumerate what is you have been left." He paused to pull out a rather long piece of paper. Clearing his throat, he resumed, "Stocks in Winchester Arms, totaling to fifty one percent. Stocks in the Schnee Dust Company, totaling to twenty percent. Seven properties located as follows: One in Mistral, One in Vacuo, One in Atlas, One in Menagerie, and Three in Vale. Finally, a sum of one billion, five hundred million lien." Laying the papers on the table for the witnesses to sign, Pine stood up and walked up to Cardin, offering his hand.

"I knew your father, son," The Justice said. "We sat for nearly half a decade together. He was a great man, and I feel you will be too." Cardin took the man's hand and gave his thanks before the Justice left.

"Congratulations young man," Ozpin said. "You are now one of the most powerful men in remnant."

 _ **Thanks for reading. If you like what you read, favorite it. If you want to read more, follow it. But most importantly of all, please leave a review. I write this as much for you all as for myself, and I don't want to write what people don't like reading.**_

 _ **Peace out**_


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